The  Question 

of  8)l    B, 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS 


THE  NA  VY  AND  THE  MERCHANT 
MARINE 


BY 

J.  D.  JERROLD   KELLEY 

LIEUT.  U.  S.  NAVY  .  . 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1884 


COPYRIGHT,  1884,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


TROWS 

PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY, 
NI1V  YORK. 


With  this  contribution  to  the  vexed  ques- 
tion of  ships  I  venture  to  associate  the  name 
of  James  Gordon  Bennett,  Esq.,  in  grateful 
recognition  of  the  truth,  courage,  and  loyalty 
with  which  the  NEW  YORK  HERALD  has 
sustained  the  cause  of  ships  and  sailors 
everywhere. 

j.  D.  y.  K. 

U.  S.  Naval  Board  of  Inspection  Foreign  Vessels, 
New  York  City,  January  31,  1884. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 
OUR  CHANCES  FOR  MARITIME  SUCCESS,      .        .        .  i 

CHAPTER   II. 
RISE  AND  FALL  OF  OUR  COMMERCE, 12 

CHAPTER   III. 
THE  CAUSES  OF  OUR  DECAY, 25 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  NAVIGATION  LAWS, 31 

CHAPTER  V. 
FREE  SHIPS, 45 

CHAPTER  VI. 

MARINE  DISASTERS.     THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  A  THOROUGH 
TRAINING  FOR  OFFICERS  AND  SEAMEN,        .        .        -55 

CHAPTER  VII. 
FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION 69 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  TRAINING  <>i-  BRITISH  SEAMEN, 88 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

PACE 

THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE,          .        .        .108 

CHAPTER  X. 
UNION  OF  THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE,          .  137 

CHAPTER  XL 
THE  CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED, 158 

APPENDIX  1 187 

APPENDIX  IL,  .     .    .  - 208 

APPENDIX  III. 217 

APPENDIX  IV 228 


The  Question  of  Ships. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OUR   CHANCES   FOR   MARITIME    SUCCESS. 

IT  is  a  curious  fact  that  a  great  commercial  ques- 
tion, vital  in  its  influence  upon  the  well-being  of  an 
eminently  practical  nation,  should  so  often  be  ap- 
proached upon  the  side  of  sentiment.  A  bewilder- 
ing maze  of  statistics,  an  array  of  accommodating 
figures,  and  a  dexterous  spinning  of  subtle  phrases, 
are  made  to  form  the  premises,  not  of  an  irrefutable 
conclusion,  but  of  an  appeal,  which  fires  the  heart, 
if  it  do  not  satisfy  the  head,  of  many  a  patriot.  To 
discuss  a  question  so  sober,  so  melancholy  as  the 
restoration  of  the  Merchant  Marine,  from  the  stand- 
point of  its  poetical  merits,  is  not  a  priori  convincing 
of  its  imminent  necessity ;  and,  whether  an  advocate 
shines  in  the  broad  light-beam  of  free-trade,  or  is 
glorious  in  the  panoply  of  protection,  he  should  for- 
swear heroics  and  pleas  ad  hominem,  and  treat  the 
subject  from  the  grossly  material  vantage-ground  of 
dollars  and  cents. 

There  should  be  in  the  beginning,  for  example,  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  terms  to  be  employed 


2  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

in  the  discussion  :  a  spade  should  be  called  a  spade, 
and  mean  nothing  else  ;  the  necessity  and  fitness  for 
the  possession  of  a  merchant  marine  by  any  country 
should  be  proven,  and  not  assumed  ;  the  history  and 
growth  of  the  industry  should  be  studied  and  com- 
pared ;  the  causes  of  its  decay  should  be  formulated  ; 
and  then,  as  with  an  invalid  after  a  careful  diagnosis 
by  a  physician,  the  remedies  should  be  prescribed. 
Sentiment  can  no  more  enter  this  problem  than  into 
the  determination  of  the  next  eclipse  ;  and  so  far  as 
the  question  permits,  all  its  complex  and  interde- 
pendent conditions  should  be  viewed  and  tested. 

It  is  an  axiom  that  the  greatest  good  to  the  great- 
est number  is  secured,  where  trade  and  industrial 
questions  are  operative,  when  the  whole  population 
of  a  nation  is  engaged  in  those  pursuits  which  pay 
best  under  the  environment  of  the  country.  There 
is  no  imperative  demand  upon  any  people  to  possess 
a  Carrying  Trade,  a  Shipbuilding  Industry,  or  a 
Foreign  Commerce.  The  carrying  trade  is  an  oc- 
cupation of  men  who  own  or  control  ships,  and  dif- 
fers from  shipbuilding  as  carting  does  from  wagon- 
building  ;  looked  at  broadly,  the  two  interests  are 
hostile,  because  shipowners  wish  to  buy  new  vessels 
at  low  prices,  to  keep  the  competing  vessels  few  in 
number,  to  maintain  freights  at  the  highest  figures, 
and  to  buy  cheap,  good  ships  without  regard  to  the 
nationality  or  locality  of  the  builder. 

Foreign  commerce  is  the  exchange  under  varying 
conditions,  the  simpler  the  better,  of  the  products  of 
one  country  for  those  of  another;  merchants  want 
plenty  of  competing  ships,  and  low  freights,  and  to 
them  it  is. a  matter  of  indifference  by  whom  the 


OUR   CHANCES   FOR   MARITIME   SUCCESS.          3 

vessels  are  built,  owned,  or  navigated.  In  other 
directions  these  interests  are  correlated,  and  each  is 
of  great  value  ;  but  of  all,  commerce  is  the  active 
principle,  for  lacking  it,  a  country  needs  neither  to 
own  nor  to  build  ships.  The  carrying  trade  is  an  in- 
dustry which,  in  itself,  is  neither  more  nor  less  de- 
sirable than  any  other,  than  shoemaking  for  in- 
stance :  and  it  is  engaged  in  only  because,  for  equal 
expenditure  of  labor  and  capital,  more  profit  is 
promised  than  by  any  other  business.  Nor  does  it 
follow,  if  a  nation  had  a  commerce,  and  certain  of 
its  citizens  found  the  carrying  trade  to  be  an  advan- 
tageous employment  for  their  labor  and  capital  as 
compared  with  other  industries,  that  other  of  its 
citizens  ought  to  engage  in  shipbuilding.  Any  per- 
son may  have  a  whim  for  owning  a  ship  built  in  his 
native  country  and  be  willing  to  pay  for  the  gratifica- 
tion its  possession  affords ;  but  if  it  costs  him  more 
to  do  this  than  to  buy  abroad,  he  has  lost  money. 
"  A  fisherman,"  as  Professor  Sumner  quaintly  puts 
it,  "  who  has  caught  nothing  sometimes  buys  a  fish 
at  a  fancy  price.  He  saves  himself  mortification 
and  gets  a  dinner,  but  the  possession  of  the  fish  does 
not  prove  that  he  has  profitably  employed  his  time 
or  that  he  has  had  sport." 

Should  a  country  own  a  foreign  trade  it  would  not 
necessarily  be  an  object  for  it  to  do  its  own  carrying, 
any  more  than  it  would  be  an  object  for  a  farmer  to 
insist  upon  carting  to  market  his  own  produce, 
when  some  person  regularly  employed  in  that  busi- 
ness offered  him  a  contract  on  better  terms  than  his 
own.  Quite  as  foolish  would  the  man  be  who  re- 
fused to  carry  on  a  carting  business  unless  he  could 


4  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

build  his  own  wagons  ;  and  sunk  in  the  deepest 
deeps  is  a  nation  which  knows  that  certain  of ,  its 
citizens  could  buy  and  use  carts  so  as  to  make  a 
legitimate  profit,  and  yet  denies  the  privilege,  be- 
cause certain  other  equally  as  good  citizens  could 
not  build  similar  carts  at  home  for  a  profit. 

Maritime  success,  or  the  possession  of  the  ele- 
ments which  determine  the  fitness  of  a  nation  for 
marine  enterprise,  can  no  more  be  called  a  question 
of  chance  than  can  watchmaking  ;  nor  is  there  any 
uncertainty  about  the  conditions  which  qualify  a 
nation  for  eminence  in  navigation.  It  is  subject  to 
the  same  economic  rules,  and  its  genesis,  develop- 
ment, and  decay  follow  the  same  laws  that  underlie 
the  evolution  and  growth  of  man.  Certain  impulses 
go  to  the  establishment  of  these  marine  activities  : 
if  all  exist,  pre-eminence  is  assured  ;  if  some  are 
wanting,  there  will  be  alternate  periods  of  exaltation 
and  of  depression,  and,  possibly,  of  ultimate  deca- 
dence ;  and  if  all  or  large  numbers  are  absent,  no 
outside  aid,  whether  legislative  or  individual,  can 
arrest  the  operations  of  the  inevitable  law.  Trade 
may  be  forced,  but  all  industries  are  nowhere  less 
than  contingent ;  and  none  of  them  can  exist  if  cer- 
tain natural  conditions  are  lacking. 

Briefly  generalized,  the  first  impulse  towards  mari- 
time enterprise  arises  out  of  life  in  a  region  which 
will  not  support  its  inhabitants  by  agriculture — 
"  original  poverty  of  soil  or  limited  extent  of  terri- 
tory almost  arising  to  the  heights  of  a  necessary 
qualification  "  (Hall).  The  born  navigators  of  the 
world  have  always  lived  in  little  half-barren  coun- 
tries, situated  in  the  midst  of  fruitful  regions  ;  the 


OUR   CHANCES  FOR  MARITIME  SUCCESS.          5 

almost  invariable  rule  being  that  those  who  inhabit- 
ed a  rich  soil  never  engaged  in  navigation  until  the 
population  became  so  dense  that  agriculture  would 
not  afford  sustenance  to  all.  This  was  the  case  with 
the  Carthagenians,  the  Greeks,  the  Latin  races  of  Eu- 
rope, the  English,  and  among  other  people  in  Amer- 
ica, the  New-Englanders.  These  last  took  to  the 
sea  because  the  shore  did  not  furnish  them  with 
products  which  would  remunerate  their  capital  and 
labor  equally  as  well  ;  while  on  the  other  hand  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States  clung  to  the  fruitful 
land,  never  fostered  nor  inherited  a  taste  for  the 
ocean,  and  to-day  do  not  own  one-ninth  of  the  ships 
under  our  flag. 

Ocean  fisheries  affect  the  maritime  fitness  of  a 
people  by  the  training  they  give  to  sailors,  and  by 
their  encouragement  and  exercise  of  those  qualities 
which  prepare  mariners  for  the  daring  and  difficult 
enterprises  of  their  calling ;  in  every  age  the  fish- 
eries have  been  the  original  temptations  which  in- 
duced men  to  go  to  sea,  and  the  only  nations  that 
have  been  eminent  in  shipping  have  fished  from  the 
beginning. 

It  is  an  accepted  law  that  an  art-loving  or  an  art- 
producing  community  does  not  display  energy  in 
commerce  and  industry  ;  a  roaming  disposition,  a 
love  of  adventure,  a  jealousy  of  participation  in  home 
affairs  by  foreigners,  and  a  spirit  of  traffic  and  in- 
dustry, invariably  impel  in  the  direction  of  maritime 
enterprise,  and  thus  make  it  largely  dependent  upon 
the  genius  of  a  people. 

It  is  only  a  region  situated  in  the  midst  of  great 
seas,  and  advantageously  central,  that  can  in  the 


6  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

long  run  have  the  most  ships  and  be  supreme  in 
commerce  ;  this,  which  was  so  potent  in  the  past, 
will  have  double  significance  in  a  future  of  general 
settlement  of  inhabitable  lands.  The  flag  of  com- 
mercial enterprise  shifts  with  centres  of  civilization 
and  settlement ;  and  of  two  nations  competing  for 
trade  and  navigation  to  a  great  market,  that  one  in 
the  end  will  secure  the  larger  share  which  is  the 
nearer  or  which  has  the  better  geographical  position. 

A  great  population  and  a  large  surplus  of  native 
commodities  are  essential  to  the  permanency  and 
greatness  of  a  merchant  marine.  This  does  not  pre- 
clude a  certain  trade  being  built  up  by  small  nations 
with  a  limited  population  and  no  commerce  ;  for,  as 
to-day  in  the  North  Countries,  a  people,  forced  from 
irresistible  conditions  to  follow  the  sea,  might  find 
it  profitable  to  prosecute  a  carrying  trade  ;  but 
under  a  limiting  environment  such  an  industry 
would  be  rarely  permanent  and  never  great.  The 
wants  and  energies  of  a  large  native  population  de- 
velop trade  ;  and  when  the  genius  of  a  people  is,  as 
with  most  nations,  one-sided — agriculture  as  opposed 
to  manufacturing,  for  example — the  laws  of  supply 
and  demand,  and  the  exigencies  growing  out  of  the 
ownership  of  a  large  surplus  product,  must  insure 
marine  enterprise. 

Abundant  resources  in  material  for  ships  ;  econ- 
omy in  ship  construction  and  operation  ;  capability 
of  production  for  a  definite  sum  less  than  rival  na- 
tions ;  power,  in  the  absence  of  this,  of  purchasing 
where  they  are  best  and  cheapest ;  a  wise  policy  of 
government — these,  and  all  of  these,  go  to  the  mak- 
ing of  the  ideal  commercial  nation. 


OUR   CHANCES   FOR   MARITIME   SUCCESS.         / 

Do  we  then  possess  this  fitness,  this  capacity  for 
maritime  success  ?  So  far  as  commerce  affects,  this 
country  has  a  vital  interest  in  the  carrying  trade,  let 
theorists  befog  the  cool  air  as  they  may  ;  every  dol- 
lar paid  for  freight  imported  or  exported  in  Ameri- 
can vessels  accrues  to  American  labor  and  capital, 
and  the  enterprise  is  as  much  a  productive  industry 
as  the  raising  of  wheat,  the  spinning  of  fibre,  or  the 
smelting  of  ore.  Had  the  acquired,  the  "  full  "  trade 
of  1860  been  maintained  without  increase,  $80,000,000 
would  have  been  added  in  1880  to  the  national  wealth, 
and  the  gain  from  diverted  shipbuilding  would  have 
swelled  this  sum  to  a  total  of  $100,000,000.  Our 
surplus  products  must  find  foreign  markets  ;  and  to 
retain  them,  ships  controlled  by  and  employed  in 
exclusively  American  interests  are  essential  instru- 
mentalities. Whatever  tends  to  stimulate  competi- 
tion and  to  prevent  combination  benefits  the  pro- 
ducer ;  and  as  the  prices  abroad  establish  values 
here,  the  barter  we  obtain  for  the  despised  one-tenth 
of  exports — $665,000,000  in  1880 — determines  the 
profit  or  loss  of  the  remainder  in  the  home  market. 
Is  it  generally  known,  for  instance,  that  a  difference 
in  cost  of  a  single  penny  in  laying  down  grain  at 
Liverpool  may  decide  whether  this  product  shall  be 
drawn  from  the  United  States  or  from  the  agricul- 
tural districts  of  Hungary  and  Southern  Russia? 
During  the  last  fiscal  year  11,500,000  gross  tons  of 
grain,  oil,  cotton,  tobacco,  precious  metals,  etc.,  were 
exported  from  the  United  States,  and  this  exporta- 
tion increases  at  the  rate  of  1,500,000  tons  annually  ; 
3,800,000  tons  of  goods  are  imported,  or  in  all  about 
15,000,000  tons  constitute  the  existing  commerce  of 


8  THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

this  country.  If  only  one-half  of  the  business  of 
carrying  our  enormous  wealth  of  surplus  products 
could  be  secured  for  American  ships,  our  tonnage 
would  be  instantly  doubled,  and  we  would  have  a 
greater  fleet  engaged  in  a  foreign  trade,  legitimately 
our  own,  than  Great  Britain  has  to-day  (Hall).  The 
United  States  makes  to  the  ocean-carrying  trade  its 
most  valuable  contribution,  no  other  nation  giving 
to  commerce  so  many  bulky  tons  of  commodities  to 
be  transported  those  long  voyages  which  in  every 
age  have  been  so  eagerly  coveted  by  maritime  peo- 
ples. 

If  the  larger  proportion  of  this  commerce  con- 
sisted in  articles  of  foreign  growth  and  manufacture, 
it  would  not  be  strange  to  find  foreign  ships  secur- 
ing the  larger  share  of  the  business  ;  but  of  the 
17,000  ships  which  enter  and  clear  at  American  ports 
every  year,  4,600  seek  a  cargo  empty,  and  but  2,000 
sail  without  obtaining  it.  Trade  is  largely  governed 
by  the  social,  industrial  and  economical  conditions 
of  the  consumer.  A  careful  study  of  the  commercial 
relations  of  the  British  colonies  of  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  and  South  Africa  demonstrates  that  with 
them,  notwithstanding  the  competition  of  the 
mother-country,  there  are  splendid  opportunities 
yet  untried  ;  last  year  the  imports  of  the  two  for- 
mer reached  a  total  of  $400,000,000,  and  their  neces- 
sities demand  the  very  articles  we  make  most  skil- 
fully and  supply  most  cheaply  ;  and  for  return 
cargoes,  Australia  and  the  others  have  many  things 
we  want  cheap  and  are  forced  to  buy  dear.  In  1879 
the  former  sent  to  England  wool  valued  at  $35,000,000 
and  in  the  next, year  we  imported  from  England 


OUR   CHANCES  FOR   MARITIME  SUCCESS.         9 

$23,760,000  of  the  same  staple,  obviously  buying  the 
Australian  wool  at  second-hand  for  double  freights 
and  brokerages. 

Ships  are  profitable  abroad,  and  can  be  made  prof- 
itable here  ;  and,  in  truth,  during  the  last  thirty 
years  no  other  branch  of  industry  has  made  such 
progress  as  the  carrying  trade.  To  establish  this 
there  are  four  points  of  comparison — commerce, 
railways,  shipping  tonnage,  and  carrying  power  of 
the  world — limited,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  to 
the  years  between  1850  and  1880. 

Increase. 

1850.  1880.       per  cent. 

Commerce  of  all  nations..  $4, 280,000, ooo  $14,405,000,000  240 

Railways — miles  open. . .                44,400  222,000  398 

Shipping  tonnage 6,905,000  18,720,000  171 

Carrying  tonnage 8,464,000  34,280,000  304 

In  1850,  therefore,  for  every  $5,000,000  of  inter- 
national commerce  there  were  54  miles  of  railway, 
and  a  maritime  carrying  power  of  9,900  tons  ;  and  in 
1880  the  respective  ratios  had  risen  to  77  miles  and 
12,000  tons  ;  this  has  saved  one-fourth  freight,  and 
brought  producer  and  consumers  into  such  contact 
that  we  no  longer  hear  "  of  the  earth's  products 
being  wasted,  of  wheat  rotting  in  La  Mancha,  of 
wool  being  used  to  mend  roads  in  Paraguay,  and  of 
sheep  being  burnt  for  fuel  in  making  bricks  in  the 
Argentine  Republic."  England  has  mainly  profited 
by  this  enormous  development,  the  shipping  of  the 
United  Kingdom  earning $300,000, ooo  yearly,  and  em- 
ploying 200,000  seamen,  whose  industry  is  therefore 
equivalent  to  ^300  per  individual,  as  compared  with 
,£190  gained  by  each  of  the  factory  operatives.  The 


IO  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

freight  earned  by  all  flags  for  sea-borne  merchandise 
is  $500,000,000  or  about  8  per  cent,  of  the  value 
transported.  Hence  the  toll  which  all  nations  pay 
to  England  for  the  carrying  trade  is  equal  to  4  per 
cent,  (nearly)  of  the  exported  values  of  the  earth's 
products  and  manufactures  ;  and  pessimists  who  de- 
clare that  ship-owners  are  losing  money  or  making 
small  profits  must  be  wrong,  for  the  merchant  ma- 
rine is  expanding  every  year. 

What  then  is  our  situation  ?  We  have  been  a 
great  maritime  nation,  therefore  we  must  have  had 
some  of  the  qualities  essential  to  success  ;  we  have 
had  a  great  commerce,  a  great  shipbuilding  interest, 
and  a  great  carrying  trade,  hence  our  citizens  must 
have  found  these  industries  profitable.  The  national 
genius  for  trade,  adventure,  and  enterprise  has  be- 
come intensified  by  the  changes  modern  life  de- 
mands ;  our  fisheries  are  still  profitable,  whaling 
(owing  to  the  petroleum  production)  alone  ex- 
cepted  ;  every  year  our  geographical  position  has 
improved,  so  that  now  we  are  the  Great  Middle 
Kingdom  ;  our  national  resources  in  nearly  every 
direction  have  quadrupled  ;  our  population,  swelled 
last  year  by  600,000  emigrants,  is  so  dense  that  our 
eastern  coasts  are  overcrowded  with  people  whose 
race  requirements — sea-coast  born  or  descended,  as 
opposed  to  inland  reared — demand  a  sea  environ- 
ment ;  the  carrying  trade  was  never  more  profitable  ; 
our  commerce  has  expanded  so  enormously  that  it  is 
not  only  a  question  of  profit  but  of  serious  necessity 
that  we  should  manage  it,  from  the  growing  of  the 
blade  to  its  freighting  in  every  sea — and  yet,  with 
every  impulse,  every  activity  insisting  that  we  should 


OUR  CHANCES  FOR  MARITIME  SUCCESS.       II 

assume  our  place  in  the  world,  our  Merchant  Marine 
is  in  a  state  of  decadence.  Our  people  are  not  more 
profitably  employed  in  other  occupations,  and  there- 
fore it  must  be  in  bad  laws,  apathy  of  government, 
or  the  lack  of  special  resources  that  the  causes  will 
be  discovered. 


CHAPTER  II. 

RISE   AND    FALL    OF   OUR   COMMERCE. 

THE  first  vessels  built  upon  our  shores  were  intended 
exclusively  for  the  fisheries  and  the  coasting  trade, 
the  pioneer  merchants  being  contented  with  the 
quick  returns  and  small  profits  of  a  commerce  that 
was  not  controlled  by  exacting  foreign  governments. 
The  vessels  were  necessarily  small,  and,  though  ad- 
mirably fitted  for  their  work,  of  the  type  struggling 
shipbuilders  must  perforce  produce.  As  early  as 
1660  the  fisheries  off  our  coast  had  become  so  valua- 
ble that  as  many  as  six  hundred  sails  were  found 
upon  the  Banks  during  a  season,  and  so  great  were 
the  profits  that  the  boats  often  paid  for  themselves 
in  one  voyage.  Gaining  confidence  by  successful 
rivalry  in  a  trade  which  foreigners  had  aggrandized, 
the  New  England  merchants  extended  their  enter- 
prises in  other  directions,  and,  before  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  they  had  built  up  a  commerce  which 
was  substantially  profitable  not  only  on  our  own 
coast,  but  with  Europe  and  the  Spanish  West  Indies. 
The  war  naturally  checked  the  growth  of  naviga- 
tion ;  but,  as  a  compensation,  shipbuilding  acquired 
so  great  an  impetus  from  privateering,  that  when 
peace  was  established,  there  were  nowhere  more 
skilled  or  more  intelligent  ship-designers  and  me- 
chanics than  our  own.  At  this  time  our  shipping 


RISE  AND   FALL  OF  OUR  COMMERCE.  13 

could  not  have  exceeded  100,000  tons,  though,  as  the 
government  had  no  control  over  the  registry  until 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  no  definite 
knowledge  is  attainable.  Foreigners,  however,  still 
controlled  the  best  part  of  our  trade,  for  at  that  time 
"the  prominent  fact,"  writes  Hall,  "was  the  pre- 
ponderance of  European  bottoms  in  the  foreign 
trade  ;  in  1789  the  registration  was  123,893  tons  ; 
68,607  i°  tne  coasting  trade  ;  9,062  in  the  fisheries  ; 
and  there  were  still  100,000  tons  of  foreign  shipping 
in  the  external  commerce."  The  active  social,  po- 
litical, and  economic  principle  of  each  nation  in  those 
days  was  eminently  not  fair  dealing  to  other  people  ; 
and  the  accepted  theory  of  trade  among  the  stronger 
nations  was  the  imposition  of  such  burdens  upon  the 
weaker  maritime  countries  that  the  latter  were  cer- 
tain to  be  driven  from  all  but  home  ports.  The  new 
United  States  suffered  particularly  by  this  policy; 
and  upon  her  entrance  in  the  race  of  the  trading  na- 
tions, asserted  as  cardinal  principles  growing  out  of 
her  political  aspirations,  freedom  of  commerce  and 
entire  reciprocity  of  intercourse. 

Treaties  were  sought,  but  in  vain,  until  1782, 
when  the  Dutch,  after  four  years  of  negotiation 
initiated  by  Franklin  and  consummated  by  John 
Adams,  signed  a  convention  which  gave  the  ships 
of  both  nations  exact  reciprocity  in  the  ports  of 
each  other.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
an  attempt  was  made  to  enter  into  a  similar  treaty 
with  England,  but  after  a  vexatious  delay  of  several 
years,  not  only  was  the  offer  rejected,  but  a  policy 
more  severe  than  that  shown  to  any  of  the  Euro- 
pean governments  was  adopted  towards  the  new  Re- 


14  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

public.  In  July,  1789,  the  first  Congress  under  the 
Constitution  passed  the  celebrated  Navigation  Act, 
which,  coming  as  it  did  from  a  weak  country,  im- 
perilling a  shipping  unprotected  by  an  adequate 
naval  force,  excited  in  Europe  a  most  profound  as- 
tonishment. That  its  enactment  in  part  was  retalia- 
tory of  England's  attitude  was  never  doubted,  and 
at  first  there  were  threats  that  boded  ill  for  the  kin 
across  the  sea  ;  then  came  doubts,  not  of  justice  but 
of  expediency ;  accentuated  by  the  increasing  ap- 
pearances of  American  ships  in  foreign  waters  ;  and 
finally  negotiations,  controversies,  and  treaties  ;  these 
at  first  with  England  in  1794,  then  with  Spain  in 
1795,  and  at  last  with  France  in  1800. 

Though  the  provisions  of  these  treaties  were  not 
entirely  satisfactory,  yet  they  were  movements  in  a 
right  direction  ;  and  so  much  was  commerce  stimu- 
lated that  in  1800  seven-eighths  of  the  freights  was 
carried  in  American  ships  ;  the  home  trade  with 
China  was  exclusively  our  own;  and  between  1798 
and  1812,  200,000  tons  of  shipping  beyond  our 
needs  were  sold  to  foreigners.  "  Secure  in  the  pro- 
tection of  our  laws  .  .  .  our  merchants  entered 
upon  the  present  century  a  class  of  prosperous  men 
and  full  of  confident  anticipations  for  the  future  " 
(Hall).  Shipping  had  increased  in  tonnage  as  fol- 
lows : 

Years.  Registered  for  Foreign  Trade.  Coasting  Trade.  Fisheries. 

1789 123,893  68,607         9,062 

1795 S29.470          164,795      34,102 

1800 669,921  246,295         30,078 

1805 749,341  3OI>366  58,363 

England,  unable  outside  of  protocols  to  look  upon 


RISE   AND   FALL   OF   OUR   COMMERCE.  1 5 

us  as  anything  but  rebellious  colonists,  still  sub- 
jected our  ships  to  such  annoying  visits  and  im- 
pressed so  many  of  our  seamen  that,  in  twelve  years, 
our  merchants  suffered  great  losses  by  the  detention 
and  crippling  of  their  vessels — no  less  than  6,000  men 
having  been  forcibly  taken  from  the  decks  under  our 
flag.  A  further  interference  with  our  commerce  re- 
sulted from  the  blockade  of  the  coasts  of  France  and 
of  the  Netherlands,  and  from  the  subsequent  publica- 
tion of  the  Berlin  Decree  and  of  the  English  Orders 
in  Council  of  1806,  and  from  the  Milan  Decree  of 
1807  ;  in  consequence  of  these  necessities  of  foreign 
war,  over  1660  American  ships  were  captured,  and 
either  condemned  with  their  cargoes  or  subjected  to 
great  losses  by  trade  interference,  high  insurances 
and  delays  ;  many  of  our  vessels  were  forced  to  seek 
neutral  harbors  for  protection,  and  were  not  only 
seized  at  sea,  but  were  searched  at  the  mouths  of 
our  own  harbors.  America  protested  in  vain,  and 
finally  passed  the  Embargo  Act.  In  May,  1810, 
France  repealed  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees,  but 
Great  Britain  refused  either  to  desist  from  her  ob- 
noxious policy  of  search,  or  to  remove  the  prohibi- 
tions which  forbade  our  ships  seeking  markets  on 
the  free  coasts  of  Western  Europe. 

As  a  very  natural  result  the  war  of  1812  followed  ; 
it  cost  the  government  $150,000,000  ;  it  destroyed  on 
land  and  sea  thousands  of  lives  and  millions  of  pri- 
vate property,  and  at  its  close  left  us  nearly  bankrupt. 
In  iSioour  tonnage  was  1,385,000,  and  on  January  i, 
1815,  its  gross  amount  was  only  1,828,000  tons, — an 
increase  of  less  than  100,000  tons  annually  ;  in  three 
years  2,300  of  the  enemy's  vessels  were  captured, 


1 6  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

"  but  our  privateers  destroyed  many  of  these,  and 
750  were  retaken,  and  we  in  turn  lost  1,407  of  our 
own  merchant  vessels  and  fishing  boats,  so  that  the 
balance  was  slightly  in  our  favor."  At  last,  in  1815, 
England  made  a  commercial  treaty ;  and  though 
poor  in  resources,  yet  strong  with  the  instincts  of  a 
young  and  vigorous  life,  the  nation  entered  the  great 
race  for  maritime  supremacy,  fortified  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  its  past,  by  the  justice  of  a  present  gained  by 
blood  and  iron,  and  by  the  hopes  of  a  future  preg- 
nant with  promise. 

As  a  matter  of  policy,  Congress,  in  1817,  substan- 
tially re-enacted  the  navigation  laws  of  England  ; 
our  coasting  trade  was  prohibited  to  other  nations  ; 
ships  in  the  foreign  trade,  unless  two-thirds  manned 
by  Americans,  were  taxed  fifty  cents  a  ton  ;  and  the 
great  quadrangular  trade  of  Great  Britain  to  Brazil, 
the  East  Indies,  United  States  and  England,  was  cut 
off.  At  the  same  time  a  frank  offer  of  general  re- 
ciprocity was  made  in  which  America  proposed  to 
put  commerce  upon  the  high  plane  of  fraternity 
among  nations,  and  to  leave  all  victories  within  that 
field  of  action  to  the  intelligence  and  enterprise  of 
the  different  peoples  of  the  world.  This  was  de- 
clined ;  and  it  was  not  until  1830,  and  after  more 
difficulties  with  England  and  France,  that  we  had 
direct  trade  and  reciprocity  with  the  principal  com- 
mercial nations. 

From  the  peace  of  1815  our  commerce  expanded 
in  an  extraordinary  manner,  increasing  in  money 
from  $270,000,000  in  that  year  to  $480,000,0.00  in 
1836  ;  the  annual  travel  and  immigration  rose  from 
20,000  to  75,000  ;  and  fifteen  years  later,  in  1850,  the 


RISE  AND   FALL  OF  OUR  COMMERCE.  \J 

ocean  traffic  of  the  United  States  gave  employment 
to  2,335,000  tons  of  shipping — the  total  tonnage  en- 
tering and  clearing  from  our  ports  being  8,000,000. 
Nothing  could  supply  more  absolute  proof  of  our 
fitness  for  the  demands  that  a  maritime  industry 
imposes  than  this  victory  over  forces  and  circum- 
stances, which  in  every  disguise  and  under  every 
opposing  condition  met  us  at  each  forward  essay. 

Beginning  at  the  end  of  the  line,  without  a  help- 
ing hand  or  an  encouraging  voice  ;  against  obstacles 
that  seemed  insuperable  ;  in  war ;  during  a  neutral- 
ity that  was  worse  than  actual  belligerency;  when 
harassed  and  fettered  by  cruel  foreign  impositions 
and  discriminations,  and  impeded  by  the  mistaken 
views.of  internal  factions — yet,  at  the  last,  breasting 
the  waves  that  were  unbroken  by  rival  keels,  if  not 
at  the  very  head,  yet  missing  it  by  so  slight  a  degree 
that  our  coequality  was  recognized — surely  never 
before  since  the  world  began  was  there  such  a  rec- 
ord, never  such  testimony  to  the  genius  and  instincts 
of  a  people.  A  widening  field  of  commerce,  fol- 
lowed by  equality  of  competition,  aided  us  ;  the  as- 
sertion of  fair  trading  and  of  equal  rights,  empha- 
sized by  the  splendid  services  of  our  navy,  gave  us  a 
further  claim  to  be  heard  ;  our  mariners  were  the 
best  in  the  world,  and  our  ships,  notwithstanding 
the  higher  wages  paid,  were  navigated  the  most  eco- 
nomically ;  our  packet  lines  to  Europe  crossed  in  an 
average  of  less  than  twenty  days,  and  American 
buyers  could  insure  their  goods  in  this  country  un- 
der the  stipulation  they  should  come  in  certain 
American  ships;  the  British. whale  fisheries  were 
extinct,  while  ours  employed  over  700  ships  and 
0 


1 8  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

17,000  seamen  ;  in  thirty  years  this  country  built 
3,900,000  tons  of  shipping ;  all  the  mails  and  pas- 
sengers and  a  large  majority  of  the  immigrants 
were  transported  under  our  flag ;  three-fourths  of 
the  cotton  was  exported  in  the  same  way,  and  best 
of  all,  the  policy  of  the  government  was  so  aggres- 
sive that  our  flag  was  respected  everywhere,  and  in 
certain  trades,  even  under  unequal  conditions,  had 
the  preference  over  all  competitors. 

But  from  this  period  dates  our  decadence. 

The  maximum  tonnage  of  this  country  at  any 
time  registered  in  the  foreign  trade  was  in  1861,  and 
then  amounted  to  5,539,813  tons  ;  Great  Britain  in 
the  same  year  owning  5,895,369  tons,  and  all  the 
other  nations  5,800,767  tons.  Between  1855  and 
1860  over  1,300,000  American  tons  in  excess  of  the 
country's  needs  were  employed  by  foreigners  in 
trades  with  which  we  had  no  legitimate  connection 
save  as  carriers.  In  1851  our  registered  steamships 
had  grown  from  the  16,000  tons  of  1848  to  63,920 
tons — an  amount  almost  equal  to  the  65,920  tons  of 
England;  and  in  1855  this  had  increased  to  115,000 
tons  and  reached  a  maximum,  for  in  1862  we  had 
1,000  tons  less.  In  1855  we  built  388  vessels,  in 
1856  306  vessels,  and  in  1880  26  vessels — all  for  the 
foreign  trade.  The  total  tonnage  which  entered 
our  ports  in  1856  from,  abroad  amounted  to  4,464,- 
038,  of  which  American  built  ships  constituted  3.- 
194,375  tons,  and  all  others  but  1,259,762  tons.  In 
1880  there  entered  from  abroad  15,240,534  tons,  of 
which  3,128,374  tons  were  American,  and  12,112,000 
were  foreign — that  is,  in  a  ratio  of  75  to  25,  or  actu- 
ally 65,901  tons  less  than  when  we  were  twenty-four 


RISE  AND   FALL  OF   OUR   COMMERCE.  IQ 

years  younger  as  a  nation.  This  decadence  did  not 
originate  in  the  war  between  the  States,  but  dates 
from  1856,  when  it  was  detected  in  the  decrease  of 
sales  to  foreigners — 65,000  tons  having  been  trans- 
ferred in  1855,  42,000  in  1856,  26,000  in  1858,  and 
17,000  in  1860.  In  1879  we  built  43,000  tons  of  reg- 
istered vessels,  but  at  the  same  time  we  relinquished 
148,000  tons  ;  this  loss  of  105,000  tons  being  dis- 
tributed in  37,000  tons  sold  to  foreigners  (old  ves- 
sels), 24,000  tons  abandoned,  and  87,000  tons  lost. 
The  grain  fleet,  sailing  in  1 880  from  the  port  of  New 
York,  numbered  2,897  vessels,  of  which  1,822  were 
sailing  vessels  carrying  59,822,033  bushels,  and  1,075 
were  steamers  laden  with  42,426,533  bushels,  and 
among  all  these  there  were  74  American  sailing  vessels 
and  not  one  American  steamer. 

In  1856  the  total  exports  and  imports  $641, 604,850, 
and  in  1880  $1,613,770,663.  In  the  first  named  year 
there  were  carried  in  ships  built,  owned,  manned 
and  commanded  by  Americans  $482,268,274,  and  by 
foreigners  $153,336,516  ;  in  1880  Americans  trans- 
ported $280,005,497,  and  foreigners  $1,309,466,596  ; 
the  percentage  of  our  carrying  in  our  own  trade  was 
in  1856,  75.2  ;  and  in  1880,  17.4.' 

1  Our  domestic  marine  consists  of  about  25,211  vessels,  aggrega- 
ting 4,169,600  tons.  Of  this  number  17,042  are  sailing,  4,569  are 
steam,  1,206  are  canal  boats,  and  2,395  are  barges.  With  respect 
to  location  they  are  distributed  as  follows  :  The  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
coasts  have  14,762  sailing  vessels,  aggregating  1,967,023  tons  ;  2,- 
162  steam  vessels,  615,039  tons  ;  658  canal  boats,  58,963  tons  ; 
764  barges,  159,041  tons.  The  Pacific  coast  has  807  sailing  ves- 
sels, 148,712  tons;  308  steam,  107,040  tons;  87  barges,  14,595 
tons.  The  Northern  Lakes  have  1,473  sailing.  307,077  tons  ;  896 


20  THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

In  the  general  trade  of  the  world  our  record  is  as 
lamentable.  "  At  the  beginning  of  the  i9th  cen- 
tury," writes  Yeats,  "the  commerce  of  the  world 
seemed  passing  into  American  hands,  their  shipping 
having  increased  fivefold  in  twenty  years."  "  Their 
decline,"  continues  Mulhall,  "  in  recent  years  is  un- 
paralleled, as  appears  from  the  aliquot  carrying 
power  belonging  to  various  flags. 

Country.                                                         1850.  1870.  1880. 

Great  Britain 41  44  49 

United  States 15  8  6 

France  . . .- 8  8  7 

Other  flags 36  40  38 

"  In  size  of  ships  America  has  now  reached  the 
mean  attained  by  England  in  1870,  the  average  ton- 
nage of  all  sea-going  vessels  afloat  being  in  1880  177 
tons,  or  an  increase  in  ten  years  of  36  per  cent,  in 
medium  tonnage."  Our  relative'  position  is  shown 
exactly  in  the  following  table  : 

Country.  1870.  1880.     Increase,  tons. 

British 549  748  199 

French 210  320  no 

German 220         .    250  30 

American 405  560  155 

Norwegian 143  190  47 

Italian 135  156  21 

While  this  poison  of  decay  has  been  eating  into  our 
vitals,  the  possibilities  of  the  country  in  nearly  every 
other  industry  have  reached  a  plane  of  development 

steam,  203,298  tons;  549  canal  boats,  44,774  tons;  170  barges, 
42,226  tons.  The  Western  Rivers  have  1,203  steam,  250,793  tons  ; 
1,373  barges,  251,015  tons. 


RISE  AND   FALL  OF  OUR   COMMERCE.  21 

beyond  the  dreams  of  the  most  enthusiastic  theori- 
zers  ;  we  have  spread  out  in  every  direction,  and  the 
promise  of  the  future  beggars  imaginations  attuned 
even  to  the  key  of  our  present  and  past  develop- 
ment. 

1830.  1880. 

Population 12,000,000.  50,000,000. 

Railways 23  miles.  8,000  miles. 

Cotton ,  976,000  bales.  5, 500,000  bales. 

Telegraphs none.  100,000  miles. 

Post-offices 8,000.  40,000. 

1840.  1880. 

Wheat 84,000,000  bushels.  460,000,000  bushels. 

Wool 35,000,000  pounds.  225,000,000  pounds. 

Cotton  Spindles 2,000,000.  10,000,000. 

We  have  a  timber  area  of  560,000,000  acres,  and 
across  our  Canadian  border  there  are  900,000,000 
more  acres ;  and  in  coal  and  iron  production  we  are 
approaching  the  old  wo^ld. 

1842.  1879. 

Coal  j  Great  Britain  . . .  .35,000,000  tons.  135,000,000  tons. 

(  United  States. ...  2,000,000    "  60,000,000    " 

Iron  j  Great  Britain ....  2,250,000    "  6,300,000    " 

(  United  States. ...      564,000    "  2,742,000    " 

During  these  thirty-seven  years  the  relative  increase 
has  been  in  coal  from  300  to  2,900  per  cent.  ;  in  iron 
from  200  to  400  per  cent.,  and  all  in  our  favor.  But 
this  is  not  enough,  for  England,  with  a  coal  area  less 
than  that  of  either  Pennsylvania  or  Kentucky,  has 
coaling  stations  in  every  part  of  the  world,  and  our 
steamers  cannot  reach  our  Pacific  ports  without  con- 
sent of  the  English  producers  ;  even  if  electricity 
should  take  the  place  of  steam,  it  must  be  many 
years  before  the  coal  demand  will  cease  ;  and  to-day, 


22  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

of  the  thirty-six  millions  of  tons  of  coal  required  by 
the  steamers  of  the  world,  three-fourths  of  it  is  ob- 
tained from  Great  Britain. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  wire-draw  statistics,  but  it  may, 
as  a  last  word,  be  interesting  to  show,  with  all  our 
development,  the  nationality  and  increase  of  tonnage 
entering  our  ports  since  1856. 

Country.  Increase.  Decrease. 

England 6,967, 173  

Germany 922, 903  

Norway  and  Sweden 1,214,008  

Italy 596, 907  

France 208,412  

Spain 164,683  

Austria 204,872  

Belgium 226,277  

Russia 104,009  

United  States 65,901 

"This,"  writes  Lindsay,  "is  surely  not  decadence, 
but  defeat  in  a  far  nobler  conflict  than  in  the  wars 
for  maritime  supremacy  between  Rome  and  Car- 
thage, consisting,  as  it  did,  in  the  struggle  between 
the  genius,  scientific  skill,  and  industry  of  the  peo- 
ple of  two  great  nations." 

NOTE. — A  comparative  statement  of  the  exports  of  grain  from 
this  port  to  Europe  in  1883  shows  that  the  American  steamer  is  no 
longer  on  the  ocean  in  the  transatlantic  trade,  and  that  the  Ameri- 
can sailing  vessel  is  there,  so  to  speak,  simply  in  name.  Of  the 
1, 190  steam  vessels  which  last  year  •  crossed  the  ocean,  carrying 
44,205,009  bushels  of  grain,  the  United  States  cannot  lay  claim  to 
a  single  one  ;  while  among  the  166  sailing  vessels,  carrying  4,252,- 
936  bushels,  American  ship  owners  are  represented  by  two  of  the 
very  smallest  cargoes,  aggregating  25,650  bushels. 

Of  all  the  nations  America  is  now  the  last,  though  in  1880  there 
were  seven  nationalities — the  Dutch,  French,  Danish,  Portuguese, 


RISE  AND   FALL  OF  OUR  COMMERCE.  23 

Russian,  Spanish,  and  Swedish — which  were  behind  this  country  in 
the  ocean  carrying  trade.  Great  Britain  now  heads  the  list  in  ship- 
ments by  steamer,  her  record  for  the  year  being  786  vessels  and 
29,444,951  bushels,  while  Austria  comes  first  in  sailing  vessels  with 
a  record  of  51  vessels  and  of  1,498,684  bushels.  Great  Britain 
stands  fifth  on  the  list  in  shipments  by  sail,  but  by  steam  she  car- 
ried 15,000,000  bushels  more  than  all  other  nationalities  combined. 
It  appears  at  a  glance,  that  the  sailing  vessel  is  fast  disappearing 
before  the  ocean  steamer  in  the  transatlantic  carrying  trade  : 

Sailing 
Year.  Steamers.  Vessels. 

1879 1,056  1, 798 

1880 1,292  1,789 

1881 1,302  554 

1882 1,069  240 

1883 1,190  166 

Belgium  has  ceased  altogether  to  be  represented  by  sail,  but  she 
has  pushed  her  way  up  to  second  on  the  list,  not  in  the  number 
of  her  carrying  steamers,  but  in  the  bushels  of  grain  carried. 

The  following  table  shows  the  shipments  by  steamer,  and  num- 
ber of  vessels  and  their  nationality,  which  left  this  port  in  1883  : 

Nation.  No.  of  Vessels.        Bushels. 

British 786  29,444,951 

Belgian. 93  5,734,018 

German 170  4, 248,485 

Dutch 52  1,587,762 

French 45  1,532,093 

Danish 28  1,094,435 

Italian 14  474,078 

Portuguese i  54, 187 

Spanish i  35,ooo 


Totals i,  190  44,205,009 

Of  this  total  there  was  in  wheat,  17,448,747  bushels  ;  in  corn, 
22,125,678  bushels,  and  in  rye,  4,636,523  bushels. 

In  the  following  table  is  shown  the  shipments  by  sail  for  the 
year  : 


24                      THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

Nation.  No.  of  Vessels.         BusheFs. 

Austrian.., 51  1,493,684 

Italian 47  1,230,690 

Norwegian 24  650,594 

Portuguese 17  352,560 

British n  259,091 

Spanish 5  68, 984 

Swedish 3  50,443 

Danish 2  42, 947 

German 2  4I>533 

Russian 2  31, 760 

American 2  25, 650 


Totals. 166  4,252,966 

Of  this  total  there  were  in  wheat,  3,495,728  buafcels  ;  in  corn, 
751,269,  and  in  rye,  5,939  bushels. 

The  following  shows  the  comparative  shipments  of  grain  by 
steamers  and  sailing  vessels  in  the  past  four  years  : 

Steam.  Sa3.  Totals. 

Year.  Bushels.  Bushels.  Bushels. 

1880. 49,966,579    63,376,584    113,343,163 

1881 53,255,728    19>o2o,583    72,276,312 

1882 39, 878,449    6, 284, 289    46, 162, 738 

1883. 44,205,009    4,252,936    48,457,945 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CAUSES  OF  OUR  DECAY. 

PUBLICISTS  differ  both  as  to  the  causes  and  the  reme- 
dies. In  1865  the  first  were  oracularly  referred  to 
the  war  between  the  States  ;  but  in  modern  times 
the  effects  of  war  are  generally  less  potent  when  the 
exciting  cause  is  removed,  and  with  us  nearly  every 
other  industry  has  quadrupled.  At  the  close  of  the 
Crimean  war,  Russian  commerce  was  said  to  have 
been  destroyed,  but  with  a  favoring  environment  in 
the  four  years  subsequent  to  the  peace,  the  damage 
was  so  repaired  that  in  1860  48  per  cent,  more  Rus- 
sian ships  entered  English  ports  than  ever  before. 

In  1868  doctrinaires  declared  that  the  fluctuation 
of  the  currency  was  the  destroying  factor,  but  it  is 
of  record  that  our  shipping  declined  more  after  the 
resumption  of  specie  payments  than  in  the  years 
when  the  fluctuations  were  greatest.  Next  followed 
the  assertion  that  with  the  revival  of  general  pros- 
perity so  many  avenues  were  opened  to  profitable 
investment  that  no  room  was  left  for  placing  money 
in  the  carrying  trade  ;  but  money  has  become  cheaper 
year  by  year,  until  now,  with  our  shipping  at  low- 
water  mark,  the  rate  is  but  4  per  cent.,  and  for  gov- 
ernment bonds  (excepting  the  consols  of  1907)  practi- 
cally lower.  None  of  these  is  a  fair  reason,  for  as 
a  matter  of  history  the  first  actual  decline  began 


26  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

before  the  war,  in  a  time  of  fair  interest  and  no 
debts,  and  when  money  was  stable.  Some  writers 
assign  it  to  various  fanciful  causes,  and  there  are  not 
wanting  others  who  discover  the  secret  in  British 
gold,  aided  and  abetted  by  an  unholy  trinity  of 
American  venality,  a  hireling  press,  and  a  great  for- 
eign insurance  combination.  But  it  requires  little 
research  to  learn  that  the  decadence  must  be  as- 
cribed to  one  or  more  of  the  following  causes  :  i. 
Substitution  of  steam  for  sails.  2.  Use  of  iron  in- 
stead of  wood  in  shipbuilding.  3.  Non-subsidizing 
of  American  lines.  4.  Navigation  Laws.  5.  Special 
Government  and  State  restrictions. 

In  this  country  steam  was  first  applied  to  the 
navigation  of  rivers,  and  in  1847  the  steam-tonnage 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  alone  exceeded  that  of  the 
whole  British  Empire  ;  indeed,  so  great  are  the  de- 
mands of  our  inland  navigation  that  to-day  it  is 
claimed  our  total  domestic  steam-tonnage  does  ex- 
ceed that  of  England.  By  1840  serviceable  lines  of 
boats  were  plying  between  the  principal  commercial 
cities  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  between  1845  and 
1851  American  steamers  were  crossing  the  Atlantic 
ocean.  In  1858  we  had  52  steamers  of  71,000  tons 
in  the  foreign  and  domestic  trades,  England  at 
the  same  time  owning  156  vessels  of  210,000  tons 
burden,  and  the  rest  of  Europe  130  of  150,000  tons. 
But  in  that  year  American  competition  broke  down  ; 
and  while  we  were  left  with  only  seven  steam  vessels 
in  the  foreign  trade,  England  had  120  plying  to  the 
extremities  of  the  earth.  To-day  foreigners  have 
over  three  hundred  steamers  in  the  direct  trade  with 
the  United  States,  while  our  country  has  less  than 


THE  CAUSES   OF  OUR  DECAY.  27 

fifteen  steamers  running  across  the  Atlantic  and  Pa- 
cific oceans. 

Shipping  cannot  be  measured  merely  by  gross 
tonnage,  for  steamers,  as  determined  by  Leroy-Beau- 
lieu,  multiply  the  carrying  power  fivefold.  They 
are  cheaper  than  sailing  vessels,  as  the  birth-rate, 
death-rate  and  increase — "  the  vital  statistics  " — 
demonstrate.  The  ordinary  life  of  a  ship,  allowing 
for  extraordinary  contingencies  is,  in  the  United 
States,  1 8  years  ;  in  France,  20  ;  in  Holland,  25  ;  in 
Germany,  25  ;  in  Great  Britain,  26  ;  in  Italy,  28  ; 
and  in  Norway,  30.  The  annual  average  of  wrecks 
for  the  seven  years  ending  1879  is  as  follows  : 

Country.                                           Steamers.  Sailing 

Per  cent.  Vessels. 

British 2.94  3.93 

French 2.47  4.04 

United  States 4.06  5.45 

Dutch 3.84  4.49 

German 2.77  4.04 

Italian 1.74  2.94 

Scandinavian 1.96  3. 20 

Allowing  three  voyages  yearly  for  a  sailing  ship 
and  fifteen  for  a  steamer,  it  appears  that  the  former 
is  lost  once  in  72  voyages  and  the  latter  once  in  490  ; 
so  that  steamers  have  only  one-seventh  of  the  risk 
of  sailing  vessels.  The  death-rate  of  the  world's 
shipping  is  4  per  cent.,  or  750,000  nominal  tons, 
and  the  birth-rate  5  per  cent.,  the  average  of  new 
vessels  built  being  950,000  tons ;  but  even  this 
does  not  give  a  correct  idea,  since  the  substitution 
of  steamers  for  sailing  vessels  augments  the  carry- 
ing power  4  per  cent.  The  vessels  lost  or  broken 


28  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

represent  1,200,000  tons  a  year;  and  those  built 
attain  nearly  double  that  number,  as  appears  from 
Kaier's  returns  of  the  average  since  1872,  viz.  : 

Shipbuilding,     Annual  Average. 

Dock  Yards.                        Steamers,  Tons.  Sailing  Vessels.  Carrying  Power. 

British 292,000                 167,000  1,630,000 

United  States 15,000                 118,000  193,000 

Italy,  Canada 35,000                 324,000  499,000 


342,000  609,000  3,322,000 

The  efficiency  of  seamen  measured  by  the  number 
of  tons  they  carry  yearly  will  be  found  to  have  some 
relation  to  the  quantity  of  merchandise  borne  by 
steamers,  viz.: 

Flag.  Seamen.  Tons  Carried.    Per  Seaman.      Steam  Ratio. 

Per  cent. 
British 141,440  61,100,000  436  76 

French1 29,220  8,100,000  •      271  63 

German 39,980  5,700,000  141  54 

Italian 52,000  4,300,000  83  25 

Various 446,000  38,000,000  85  41 


708,640  117,200,000  165  61 

Ten  years  ago  the  average  of  tons  carried  by  each 
British  seaman  was  no  more  than  278,  so  that  two 
men  in  1880  did  the  work  of  three  men  in  1870  ;  and 
further,  ships  are  not  sent  to  sea  short-handed,  as 
this  might  indicate,  for  the  efficiency  of  the  seaman 
has  been  indisputably  increased  ;  and  the  sea  mor- 
tality of  3^  per  1,000  proves  how  much  sanitary  prog- 
ress has  gone  hand-in-hand  with  the  new  conditions 
which  demand  superior  intelligence.  Some  shipown- 
ers claim  that  owing  to  this  very  efficiency  the  car- 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OUR  DECAY.       29 

rying  trade  is  overdone,  and  that  the  world  could 
satisfy  its  commercial  demands  with  fewer  vessels ; 
and  though  it  is  true  that  the  ballast  entries  in  Great 
Britain  and  the  Continent  arose  from  17^  and  2i£ 
per  cent,  in  1870  to  19^-  and  22\  per  cent,  respec- 
tively in  1880,  still  the  building  and  employment  of 
new  ships  disprove  this  statement.  Tonnage  move- 
ment, therefore,  gives  a  better  idea  of  national 
wealth  than  tonnage  possession,  for  the  tendency  of 
trade  is  to  transact  business  with  that  minimum  of 
profit  and  that  maximum  of  volume  which  render 
capacity  and  speed  development  essential.  Twenty 
years  since  a  vessel  of  3,000  tons  on  a  voyage  of 
given  length  had  to  allow  2,200  tons  for  coal  and 
machinery  ;  but  compound  engines  and  structural 
and  propulsion  improvements  have  so  reversed  this 
that  now  but  800  space-tons  are  needed  for  motive 
power,  and  2,200  may  be  devoted  to  freight  and  pas- 
sengers. In  1883  Great  Britain  built  five  steamers 
to  each  sailing  vessel  constructed  ;  and  though  a  fair 
proportion  of  the  world's  commerce  is  still  carried  in 
sailing  vessels,  these  figures  seem  to  prove  that,  ex- 
cept for  very  long  voyages  with  bulky  freights,  their 
days  are  numbered.  , 

But  even  in  sailing  vessels  iron  ships  are  super- 
seding wooden,  and  during  the  last  five  years,  while 
we  built  101,823  tons  almost  entirely  for  domestic 
trade,  England  put  afloat  1,800,193  tons  '•>  an<^  to-day 
still  further  complicates  the  problem  by  proposing 
the  substitution  of  steel  for  iron.1 


1  "  A  recent  English  writer,  in  treating  of  the  new  application  of 
steel  to  shipbuilding,  illustrates  the  advantage  of  this  material  over 


30  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

In  every  important  respect  iron  ships  are  more  de- 
sirable than  wooden  :  i.  They  secure  a  higher  classi- 
fication and  for  a  longer  term  of  years  ;  2.  They  are 
maintained  at  less  expense  ;  3.  They  carry  more 
cargo  on  equal  tonnage  and  obtain  higher  rates  of 
freight  ;  4.  They  command  the  preference  at  the  en- 
hanced rates ;  5.  They  are  insured  on  better  terms  ; 
and,  6.  They  are  less  liable  to  damage  cargoes. 

All  parties  will  accept  these  as  primary  causes  of 
the  decay  of  our  shipping,  their  practical  influences 
being  coeval  with  the  evolution  of  new  theories  of 
commerce  ;  but  beyond  these  points  of  agreement 
there  are  two  radical  and  embittered  differences  of 
belief,  one  pinning  its  faith  to  the  dogma  of  free 
ships,  and  the  other  looking  toward  the  Mecca  of 
subsidies. 

iron  as  follows  :  Suppose  the  construction  of  a  transatlantic  freight 
steamer  carrying  3,500  tons  (dead  weight) 'is  contemplated;  if  of 
iron,  the  hull  will  weigh  about  2, 500  tons,  and  the  entire  ship  will 
cost  about  $350,000  ;  if  of  steel,  the  hull  will  weigh  2,000  tons,  the 
total  cost  being  $380,000.  Reckoning  6  per  cent  interest  and  6 
per  cent  depreciation,  etc.,  on  this  $30,000  extra  cost,  we  have 
$3,600  per  annum.  As  an  offset  to  this,  the  writer  estimates  as  an 
extra  freight  on  the  steel  over  the  iron  vessel  500  tons  cargo  out 
and  500  tons  cargo  back.  Assuming  ten  trips  per  year,  this  would 
give  io,OOO  tons  extra  freight,  which,  at  $3  average  freight  per  ton, 
would  make  $30,000  extra  earnings  per  year.  Deducting  from  this 
the  $3,600,  the  balance  of  $26,400  represents  the  extra  net  profit 
per  year  that  would  be  earned  by  the  steel  over  the  iron  steamship, 
which  is  equal  to  9^  per  cent  on  the  entire  cost  of  the  vessel," 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    NAVIGATION    LAWS. 

THE  protection  or  subsidization  of  the  American 
foreign  trade  is  not  a  new  idea  in  our  experiments 
with  political  economy,  the  first  appropriation  dating 
from  1845,  when  $1,274,600  were  equitably  divided  be- 
tween several  lines  of  steamers  ;  under  varying  con- 
ditions and  with  increasing  demands  these  bounties 
were  continued  until  1855,  and  then  ceased,  not  to 
appear  until  1865,  when  Congress  subsidized  Garri- 
son's Line  to  Brazil,  and,  later,  the  Pacific  Mail  and 
Roach's  Brazil  Line.  To  develop  commerce  for  the 
ships  we  could  build  was  offered  as  the  apology  for 
the  subventions  in  the  earlier  period  ;  to  foster  ship- 
building as  the  most  important  element  of  commerce 
revival  is  claimed  as  their  raison  d'etre  in  the  latter. 
But  herein  lies  a  fallacy ;  for  while  shipbuilding  is 
of  the  navigation  interests,  it  is  not  its  rounded  sum- 
mation :  commerce,  carrying  trade,  postal  service, 
and  the  maintenance  of  a  school  for  maritime  de- 
fence, being,  if  not  superior,  at  least  not  subordinate. 
The  profit  of  a  ship  in  twenty  years'  cargo-carrying 
is  fifteen  times  greater  than  her  first  cost,  and,  low 
as  is  our  commerce  to-day,  more  wages  are  distrib- 
uted to  sailors  in  a  single  week  than  all  the  ship- 
builders pay  their  operatives  in  an  entire  year ; 
hence,  it  is  a  curious  study  in  political  economy  to 


32  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

find  an  illogical  conclusion  resulting  in  national 
interests  being  sacrificed  to  the  policy  of  a  few  ship- 
builders, and  to  see  a  great  country  rejecting  a 
greater  profit  for  a  lesser  because  both  cannot  be 
obtained.  "  There  is  a  familiar  doctrine  found  in 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  in  the 
Constitution  of  every  State,"  said  Mr.  Bayard  in  the 
Senate,  "  which  is  the  necessary  outgrowth  of  the  in- 
stitution of  government  itself.  It  is  that  the  interest 
of  the  individual  or  few  must  give  way  to  that  of 
society  at  large.  But  where  is  the  proposition,  and 
where  in  any  civilized  government  called  free  can 
you  find  the  doctrine  recognized,  that  public  prop- 
erty may  be  taken  for  private  use  ? "  It  is  undeni- 
able that  under  whatever  form  subsidies  appear  they 
tax  the  many  for  the  few,  and  can  be  met  only  by 
new  burdens  upon  the  producer  and  consumer  for 
the  benefit  of  a  privileged  distributing  agent ;  this 
protection  means  that  the  greater  number  of  Ameri- 
can shipowners  must  compete  not  only  with  foreign 
and  home  rivals,  but  with  their  own  more  favored 
countrymen  who  sit  above  the  salt  and  receive  ex- 
ceptional favors  from  the  Government ;  nay,  more,  it 
results  in  the  nation  itself  entering  into  competition 
with  the  great  body  of  shipowners  and  shipbuilders, 
whose  contributions  to  the  revenues  are  turned 
against  themselves.  When  Congress  compensates 
steamship  lines  for  running  at  a  loss,  or  pays  the 
difference  between  the  cost  of  running  and  what  the 
owners  consider  a  fair  profit  on  their  investment, 
the  subsidized  lines  alone  are  profited,  and  the  un- 
protected but  restricted  ships  succumb  in  the  unequal 
conflict.  In  nearly  every  case  protected  lines  in  the 


THE   NAVIGATION   LAWS.  33 

past  have  been  beaten  by  unsubsidized  but  unre- 
stricted foreign  steamers  ;  when  the  bounties  ceased 
the  lines  stopped  running,  and  while  freights  were  not 
made  cheaper,  the  results  were  to  make  the  protected 
owners  richer  by  the  subsidy,  to  ruin  the  unprotected 
shipper,  and  to  develop  no  foreign  trade.  During 
the  ten  years  covered  by  Garrison's  operations  the 
value  of  our  imports  from  Brazil  doubled,  and  our 
exports  increased  but  one-eighth,  and  for  this  solution 
of  the  economic  question  we  paid  $1,500,000. 

"  Whenever  the  question  of  ships  is  raised,  the 
clamor  for  subsidies  and  bounties  is  renewed,  and 
we  are  told  again  that  England  has  established  her 
commerce  by  subsidies.  .  .  .  Some  of  OUK  writ- 
ers and  speakers  seem  to  be  under  a  fascination 
which  impels  them  to  accept  as  authoritative  exam- 
ples the  follies  of  English  history,  and  to  reject  its 
sound  lessons.  In  the  present  case,  however,  the 
matter  stands  somewhat  differently.  England  is  a 
great  manufacturing  town.  It  imports  food  and 
raw  materials  and  exports  finished  products.  It 
has  therefore  a  general  and  a  public  interest  in 
maintaining  communication  with  all  parts  of  the 
world.  .  .  .  Subsidies  to  ships  for  the  mere 
sake  of  having  ships  or  ocean  traffic,  when  there  was 
no  business  occasion  for  the  subsidized  lines,  would 
have  no  analogy  with  English  subsidies  "  (Sumner). 
Yet  the  example  of  Great  Britain  is  invariably  hailed 
as  the  clear,  effulgent  light  whereby  we  may  guide 
our  stumbling  footsteps,  and  we  are  asked  to  sub- 
scribe a  few  millions  that  we  may  replace  England 
as  a  successful  wooer  for  the  commerce  of  the  world. 
But  even  if  our  national  conditions  were  as  alike  as 
3 


34  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

they  are  dissimilar,  an  addition  of  100,000  toiu  i< 
ocean  tonnage,  supported  by  a  bonus  of  $3,500,000, 
would  be  only  5  per  cent,  of  the  steam  fleet  of  Great 
Britain,  and  its  total  earnings  would  be  but  z\  per 
cent,  of  the  freight  money  she  bids  us  stand  and  de- 
liver on  the  high  seas.  England  is  a  country  whose 
greatness  is  in  dependencies  which  punctuate  the 
page  of  the  world  ;  200,000,000  of  her  people  demand 
postal  communications  in  colonies  separated  by 
leagues  of  sea,  and  her  sea-concessions  are  analo- 
gous to  what  we  have  done  in  railroad-grants  and 
mail-routes  within  our  undivided  territory.  Of  the 
,£783,000  voted  in  1881,  more  than  one-half  went 
for  mail  purposes,  and  not  a  guinea  was  tabooed  to 
ships  surveying  mankind  with  commercial  view,  or 
built  in  any  country  from  China  to  Peru  ;  some  of 
this  bounty  has  gone  to  foreign  ships  under  foreign 
flags,  and  her  object  has  been,  not  to  make  English- 
men buy  or  build  ships,  but  to  force  the  colonies  to 
recognize  their  indebtedness  to  the  mother-country. 
France  exports  a  good  share  of  her  manufactured 
goods  in  English-built  ships,  and  Italy  must  neces- 
sarily do  the  same,  as  she  has  few  others.  Hence  it 
seems  certain,  that  for  whatever  reasons  of  policy  and 
by  whatever  country  this  money  is  given,  it  is  under 
no  limitations  to  employ  home-built  ships  or  to  foster 
home  shipbuilding  interests. 

Our  coasting  trade,  which  includes  the  rivers  and 
great  lakes,  now  comprises  about  19,000  vessels  and 
2,200  barges,  employing  70,000  men,  and  the  com- 
petition is  so  great  that  the  charges  for  transporta- 
tion have  been  reduced  to  a  point  never  before 
known.  Hence  no  one  prominently  identified  with 


THE  NAVIGATION   LAWS.  35 

this  question  seeks  to  alter  in  the  least  the  conditions 
of  this  enormous  industry.  It  is  true  that  there  are 
a  few  dissatisfied  writers  who  demand  entire  and  im- 
mediate freedom  for  ships  and  tariff,  but  the  great 
majority  of  free-ship  advocates  do  not  seek  such  ex- 
treme measures  of  relief ;  they  do  not  wish,  for  in- 
stance, to  interfere  with  this  domestic  trade,  believing 
that  its  monopoly  of  60  per  cent,  of  the  whole  ship- 
building, and  that  the  restrictions  in  the  size  of  the 
vessels  to  be  bought  in  open  market  (nothing  under 
3,000  tons  for  foreign  trade),  ought,  with  the  revenues 
accruing  from  repairs,  to  double  the  income  of  ship- 
builders, who  will  be  carrying  to  a  full  development  a 
reviving  industry.  For  years  these  shipbuilders  have 
been  protected,  and  each  year  fewer  ships  have  been 
built  ;  subsidies  have  been  tried,  but  commerce  still 
languishes  ;  the  echoes  of  a  world  treating  the  great 
problem  of  supply  and  demand  upon  new  principles 
have  been  heard  and  are  unheeded  ;  and  therefore  is 
it  that  many  men  believe  that  a  remedy  exists,  first,  in 
the  repeal  of  the  navigation  laws,  and,  secondly,  in 
the  removal  of  those  other  restrictions  which  have 
helped  to  throttle  the  fairest  promise  of  modern 
days. 

These  navigation  laws,  so  often  quoted  and  so 
little  understood  that  few  of  the  laity  can  distin- 
guish accurately  between  enrolment  and  register, 
and  tr^e  best  legal  talent  has  been  at  fault  in  cor- 
rectly defining  the  proper  way  of  transferring  the 
license  of  a  pleasure-yacht  from  one  collection  dis- 
trict of  the  United  States  to  another,  can  be  found 
under  title  48  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  Regulations 
of  Commerce,  chapters  one  to  nine,  and  in  various 


36  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

scattered  sections  of  the  law  and  of  the  Treasury 
Regulations.  After  our  establishment  as  a  nation, 
the  questions  of  Slavery,  Trade,  and  States  Rights 
were  the  great  sectional  issues,  and  our  Constitution 
and  the  earliest  statute  laws  were,  to  a  large  extent, 
the  results  of  compromises  between  these  antagon- 
istic ideas ;  indeed,  that  admired  clause  which  pro- 
vides no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
qualification  for  office,  as  well  as  the  first  amendment, 
which  forbids  the  establishment  of  religion  or  the 
prohibition  of  its  free  exercise,  were  merely  parts 
of  a  general  political  necessity,  restricting  the  func- 
tions of  the  federal  government,  and  leaving  to  the 
several  States  as  much  of  their  separate  sovereignty 
as  was  consistent  with  the  existence  of  the  Union. 
A  larger  belief  in  the  rights  of  conscience  did  not 
engender  this  liberality,  and  the  reasons  of  policy 
which  forbade  the  federal  government  to  meddle 
with  Slavery  applied  with  tenfold  power  to  questions 
of  religion.  So  was  it  with  the  navigation  laws,  for 
they  originated  in  a  compromise  between  the  slave- 
supplying  and  the  slave-holding  sections  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  the  power  to  regulate  commerce  was  in- 
serted with,  and,  as  a  consideration  for  the  extension, 
by  New  England  votes,  of  the  slave-trade  until  1808, 
and  for  the  prohibition  of  export  duties.  Though  the 
Middle  States  and  Virginia  and  Maryland  protested 
against  the  infamous  bargain,  New  England  de- 
manded from  the  first  federal  Congress  assembled 
under  the  Constitution  her  share  of  the  disreputable 
compact ;  and  thus,  conceived  in  iniquity  and  reared 
in  sin,  the  present  navigation  laws  have  cursed  our 
generations  with  more  than  Biblical  prophecy.  It  is 


THE.  NAVIGATION   LAWS.  37 

but  fair  to  add  that  their  final  enactment  was  in  re- 
taliation of  the  illiberal  policy  by  which  England 
instituted  the  destruction  of  our  trade  with  the 
West  Indies  ;  our  triumph  galled  the  British  jade, 
and  wincing,  she  did  not  look  placidly  upon  our  un- 
wrung  withers.  Pitt,  with  a  small  following,  did  at- 
tempt to  liberalize  trade  upon  the  high  seas,  though 
Lord  Sheffield,  who,  among  others,  was  in  1783  bia- 
tant  in  two-penny  opposition,  advised  the  govern- 
ment to  deal  gently  with  the  erring  corsairs  of 
Barbary,  as  the  operations  of  these  discriminating 
cut-throats  would  be  confined  mainly  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  commerce  of  America  and  that  of  the 
weaker  Italian  states.  Others  preached  a  fine  philan- 
thropy, publicly  entreating  the  British  lion  and  the 
American  lamb  to  lie  down  together  in  peace,  and 
privately  praying  that  the  lamb  might  be  inside  of 
the  lion. 

Somewhat  curtailed,  the  navigation  laws  may  be 
summarized  as  follows  :  No  American  is  allowed  to 
import  a  foreign-built  vessel  in  the  sense  of  purchas- 
ing, acquiring  a  registry,  or  using  her  as  his  prop- 
erty ;  the  only  other  imports,  equally  and  forcibly 
prohibited,  being  counterfeit  money  and  obscene 
goods.  An  American  vessel  ceases  to  be  such  if 
owned  in  the  smallest  degree  by  a  naturalized  citi- 
zen, who  may,  after  acquiring  the  purchase,  reside 
for  more  than  one  year  in  his  native  country,  or  for 
more  than  two  years  in  any  other  foreign  state.  An 
American  ship  owned  in  part  or  in  full  by  an  Amer- 
ican citizen  who,  without  the  expectation  of  relin- 
quishing his  citizenship,  resides  in  any  foreign  coun- 
try except  as  United  States  Consul,  or  as  agent  or 


38  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

partner  in  an  exclusively  American  mercantile  house, 
loses  its  register  and  its  right  to  protection.  A  citi- 
zen obtaining  a  register  for  an  American  vessel  must 
make  oath  that  no  foreigner  is  directly  or  indirectly 
interested  in  the  profits  thereof,  whether  as  com- 
mander, officer,  or  owner.  Foreign  capital  may  build 
our  railroads,  work  our  mines,  insure  our  property, 
and  buy  our  bonds,  but  a  single  dollar  invested  in 
American  ships  so  taints  as  to  render  it  unworthy  of 
the  benefit  of  our  laws.  No  foreign-built  vessel  can, 
under  penalty  of  confiscation,  enter  our  ports  and 
then  sail  to  another  domestic  port  with  any  new  cargo, 
or  with  any  part  of  an  original  cargo,  which  has  once 
been  unladen  previously,  without  touching  at  some 
port  of  some  foreign  country.  This  law  is  construed 
to  include  all  direct  traffic  between  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  ports  of  the  United  States  via  Cape  Horn, 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  ; 
and  being  a  coasting  trade,  foreigners  cannot  com- 
pete. An  American  vessel  once  sold  or  transferred 
to  a  foreigner,  can  never  again  become  American 
property,  even  if  the  transaction  has  been  the  result 
of  capture  and  condemnation  by  a  foreign  power  in 
time  of  war.  Vessels  under  30  tons  cannot  be  used 
to  import  anything  at  any  seaboard  town.  Cargoes 
from  the  eastward  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  are 
subject  to  a  duty  of  10  per  cent,  in  addition  to  the 
direct  importation  duties.  American  vessels  repaired 
in  foreign  ports  must  pay  a  duty  on  the  repairs 
equal  to  one-half  the  cost  of  the  foreign  work  or 
material,  or  pay  50  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  the  master 
or  owner  making  entry  of  such  repairs  as  imports. 
This  liberal  provision,  which, dates  from  1866,  is 


THE  NAVIGATION  LAWS.  39 

made  to  include  boats  obtained  at  sea,  from  a  pas- 
sing foreign  vessel,  in  order  to  assure  the  safety  of 
our  own  seamen.  No  part  of  the  proper  equipment 
of  a  foreign  vessel  is  liable  to  duty,  except  it  be  con- 
sidered redundant ;  thus  when  two  sets  of  chains 
were  found  upon  such  a  vessel,  one  was  made  charge- 
able with  duty.  Foreign  vessels  arriving  here  in 
distress,  with  loss  of  equipment,  must  pay  duties  on 
the  articles  imported  for  repair  ;  if  they  need  sheath- 
ing, 45  per  cent  is  exacted  for  the  new  copper  used, 
and  4  per  cent,  for  the  old  copper  removed.  In  one 
case  a  foreign  vessel  left  her  mooring  chains  of  for- 
eign manufacture  on  an  American  wharf,  and  with 
great  alacrity  duties  were  immediately  and  lawfully 
collected  on  them  as  importations.  If  a  citizen  buys 
a  vessel  of  foreign  build  stranded  on  our  coast,  takes 
her  into  port,  repairs  and  renders  her  serviceable, 
she  cannot  become  American  property  unless  the 
repairs  amount  to  75  per  cent,  of  the  whole  value  of 
the  vessel.  Except  in  the  fisheries,  all  our  vessels 
engaged  in  foreign  trade  must  pay  annually  a  tax  of 
30  cents  a  ton  ;  a  ship  of  1,000  tons,  for  instance, 
contributing  $300,  which  represents  the  profit  and 
interest  of  $5,000  at  6  per  cent.  Vessels  belonging 
to  foreign  states  having  commercial  treaties  with  us 
pay  the  same  tonnage  dues  ;  but  if  an  alien  becomes 
an  owner,  even  to  a  fractional  amount,  in  an  Amer- 
ican ship,  not  only  does  the  latter  lose  her  registry, 
but  the  foreign  privilege  is  void,  and  the  joint  own- 
ership is  charged  with  a  tax  of  sixty  cents  a  ton.  If 
a  picnic  party  comes  into  an  American  port  in  a 
foreign  vessel — on  the  great  lakes,  for  example,  in  a 
Canadian  steamboat — such  vessel  becomes  liable  to 


40  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

a  tonnage  tax.  Though  the  act  of  1872  made  free 
all  material  necessary  for  the  construction  of  ships  in 
this  country  for  foreign  trade,  such  vessels  cannot 
engage  in  domestic  trade  for  more  than  two  months 
in  any  one  year  without  payment  of  the  duties,  for 
which  a  rebate  was  allowed.  Canal-boats  crossing 
the  Hudson  River,  or  any  other  navigable  stream,  are 
making  a  coasting  voyage,  and  must  be  enrolled  and 
licensed  as  coasters ;  in  default  of  such  precautions 
they  have  been  seized,  and  released  only  after  much 
delay  and  upon  the  payment  of  a  fine.  A  foreign 
private  yacht,  touching  at  different  parts  of  our  lake 
or  sea-coast,  and  carrying  passengers — members  of 
other  hospitable  clubs — can  be  punished  for  violat- 
ing the  laws  of  domestic  trade. 

Such,  briefly  sketched,  are  some  of  the  laws  under 
which  a  free  people  live,  and  for  their  repeal  the 
historic  bill,  No.  724,  was  introduced  by  Senator 
Beck  on  January  27,  1880.  Stripped  of  its  official 
verbiage,  this  proposed  measure  enacted  that  certain 
provisions  of  the  statute  law  be  repealed,  and  that 
hereafter  it  should  be  lawful  for  our  citizens  to  pur- 
chase ships  built  in  whole  or  in  part  in  any  foreign 
country,  and  to  have  them  registered  as,  and  ac- 
corded the  privileges  of,  ships  built  wholly  within 
the  United  States,  and  owned  and  controlled  by  our 
citizens.  It  being  a  debatable  question  whether  the 
full  measure  of  relief  could  be  proposed  anywhere 
save  in  the  House,  under  its  power  to  originate 
money  or  revenue  bills,  all  provisions  relative  to 
tonnage  dues,  local  taxation,  bonded  ship  stores, 
and  free  material  for  construction  and  repair,  were 
purposely  omitted. 


THE  NAVIGATION  LAWS.  41 

Other  evil  agencies  are  at  work,  and  the  repeal  of 
such  of  the  laws  as  apply  to  foreign  trade  is  only  the 
first  step  ;  prominent  among  these  are  consular  fees, 
compulsory  pilotage,  State  and  local  taxation,  per- 
sonal liability,  determination  of  tonnage  capacity, 
shipping,  discharge  and  transportation  of  sailors, 
and  protective  duties  upon  shipbuilding  materials. 
The  limits  of  this  argument  forbid  any  but  the  fol- 
lowing brief  hints  :  For  the  year  ending  June,  1880, 
the  Treasury  received,  mainly  from  American  ships, 
$592,161  ;  these  fees,  the  interest  of  $10,000,000,  be- 
ing extorted  in  order  that  the  consular  service  might 
be  self-supporting,  and  not,  as  in  England,  main- 
tained by  the  nation.  Pilotage  to  New  York  is  more 
than  double  that  to  Liverpool,  and  with  a  thorough 
appreciation  of  the  energy,  skill,  and  sacrifices  of 
our  pilots,  it  seems  somewhat  wrong  that  the  Sandy 
Hook  service,  composed  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  New  York  and  fifty-eight  New  Jersey  mem- 
bers, should  have  received  last  year  between  $800,- 
ooo  and  $1,000,000,  or  a  mean  average  of  over  $5,000.' 

1  "The  committee  declared  the  pilot  service  a  monopoly.  The 
pilot  fees  are  fixed  by  law,  and  can  only  be  changed  by  act  of  the 
Legislature  ;  they  were  increased  in  1865,  in  consequence  of  the 
gold  premium,  about  50  per  cent,  with  an  understanding,  had 
with  the  merchants,  that  it  should  be  for  three  years  only,  but  this 
three-year  clause  was  subsequently  stricken  out  of  the  bill  by  act  of 
the  Legislature,  and  the  fees  have  since  remained  as  follows  (the 
rates  fixed  by  the  act  of  1853  and  prevailing  till  1865  being  added 

for  comparison)  : 

Inward.  Outward. 

Per  Foot.  Per  Foot. 

For  every  vessel  drawing  less  than  14  feet $3  70  $27° 

For  every  vessel  drawing  14  feet  and  less  than  18  feet 4  50  3  10 

For  every  vessel  drawing  18  feet  and  less  than  21  feet 5  50  4  10 

For  every  vessel  drawing  2 1  feet  and  upward 6  50  4  75 


42  THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

If  compulsory  pilotage  be  necessary — and  this  just 
men  deny — how  can  the  smaller  merchant  thrive 
under  a  system  which  makes  it  as  expensive  to 
bring  a  vessel  into  our  harbors  as  it  does  to  pay  her 
captain  for  a  round  voyage  to  the  West  Indian 
ports  ?  In  this  country  ships  are  assessed  as  per- 
sonal property,  in  New  York  at  a  60  per  cent,  valua- 
tion. The  annual  profits  of  a  steamship  costing 
$500,000  may  be  assumed  to  be  $25,000,  and  her 
taxes  in  New  York,  at  a  2^  per  cent,  rate  on  $300,- 
ooo,  will  amount  to  $7,500,  or  30  per  cent,  of  the 
average  profit ;  in  England  the  income  of  the  ship 
alone  is  taxed,  about  $500  will  satisfy  the  govern- 
ment's demands,  and  the  ownership  of  a  vessel 
which  is  idle  or  unprofitable  does  not  entail  those 

"  If  a  vessel  be  moored  within  Sandy  Hook  or  detained  at  Quar- 
antine, the  pilot  is  entitled  to  his  discharge  and  to  full  pilotage 
fees.  When  boarding  a  vessel  beyond  the  sight  of  Sandy  Hook 
Lighthouse  the  pilot  is  by  law  entitled  to  charge  25  per  cent,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  regular  fee.  This  'off-shore  pilotage,'  however,  has 
been  declared  illegal  by  judicial  decision,  and  is  no  longer  collected 
unless  specially  agreed  to  by  the  master  of  the  vessel.  Between 
the  first  day  of  November  and  the  first  day  of  April  $4  is  added  to 
the  pilotage  of  every  vessel  coming  in  or  going  out  of  port. 

"  The  committee  presented  a  statement  showing  fees  paid  at 
several  of  the  leading  European  ports,  none  of  which  are  as  easy  of 
access  as  the  port  of  New  York.  A  ship  drawing  21  feet  in  and  23 
feet  out  has  to  pay  for  pilotage  in  and  out  at  the  port  of  Liverpool, 
$67.44;  London,  $147.55;  Bristol,  $125;  Bremen,  in  summer, 
$55.85;  Bremen,  in  winter,  $88.79;  New  York,  in  summer, 
$245.75  >  New  York,  in  winter,  $253.75.  The  Sandy  Hook  pilot 
service  comprises  22  boats  belonging  to  the  State  of  New  York  and 
7  belonging  to  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  the  29  having  an  estimated 
value  of  $300,000." — From  Report  of  Special  Committee  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  New  York  City, 


THE  NAVIGATION   LAWS.  4-3 

burdens  which  must  weigh  upon  vessels  assessed  and 
taxed  under  the  same  conditions  as  real  estate.  Ac- 
cording to  the  British  mercantile  rule,  the  tonnage 
capacity  of  vessels  is  measured  only  on  cargo  space, 
allowance  being  made  for  quarters  and  machinery  ; 
with  us  the  space  occupied  by  the  galley  and  closets 
was  until  last  year  alone  excepted,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence our  ships  suffered,  not  only  at  home,  but  in 
ports  where  harbor  duties  and  light-money  are  levied. 
Sailors  discharged  in  foreign  ports  receive  three 
months'  pay  regardless  of  character  or  of  the  fact 
that  most  of  them  are  foreigners,  and  many  of  them 
beach-combers,  who  double  their  wages  by  such 
tricks,  and  that  all  of  them  are  at  home  in  any  part 
of  the  world. 

Thirty-odd  years  ago  the  commerce  of  the  world 
was  carried  in  sailing  vessels,  and  it  was  no  idle 
boast  when  Americans  claimed  that  England  was 
lagging  in  the  great  ocean  race,  because  of  our  su- 
perior build  and  management  of  vessels.  In  many 
important  trades  our  magnificent  clippers  were  the 
favorite  ships,  and  the  great  commercial  interests  of 
England  were  so  involved  from  the  want  of  similar 
vessels  that  remedial  measures  became  necessary. 
But  England  was  shackled  by  navigation  laws,  the 
first  dating  from  1380,  and,  strangely  enough,  offer- 
ing as  a  panacea  for  existing  evils  "  that  no  subject 
of  the  king  should  ship  any  merchandise,  outward 
or  homeward,  save  in  a  ship  of  the  king's  allegiance, 
on  a  penalty  of  forfeiture  of  vessel  and  cargo." 
Since  Cromwell's  time  offensive  prohibitions,  not 
unlike  our  own,  had  existed  on  her  statute  books, 
broadening  down  from  age  to  age  by  that  precedent 


44  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

so  dear  to  the  English  heart ;  and  in  1849,  when  the 
reform  was  finally  debated,  such  men  as  Disraeli, 
Brougham,  and  Bentinck  declared  that  free  trade  in 
shipping  would  ruin  shipowners,  drive  the  British 
sailor  into  prospering  Yankee  ships,  and  destroy  the 
shipbuilding  interests  of  Great  Britain.  Brougham, 
skilled  in  brilliant  misinformation,  avowed  that  the 
navigation  law  was  not  only  the  corner-stone  of 
England's  glory,  but  the  foundation  of  her  very  ex- 
istence ;  and  Mr.  Disraeli  closed  his  protest  against 
the  expected  arrival  of  the  same  old  New  Zealander 
by  airily  promising  that  "  he  would  not  sing  Rule 
Britannia  for  fear  of  distressing  Mr.  Cobden,  but  he 
did  not  think  the  House  would  desire  Yankee  Doo- 
dle." Shipowners  sold  their  vessels  at  ruinous  rates, 
forswore  the  sea,  and  implored  Parliament  to  save 
them  ;  but  in  vain  the  protests  and  petitions,  for  the 
intelligence  of  the  country  was  aroused  on  behalf  of 
its  pocket,  and  by  a  good  majority  the  cause  of  prog- 
ress triumphed.  Thirty  years  since  England  was 
more  free  than  this  country  is  to-day,  and  when,  in 
1856,  the  restrictions  upon  her  coasting  trade  were 
removed,  she  was  in  a  position  that  our  most  enthu- 
siastic free-ship  men  do  not  hope  for  in  the  lustrums 
yet  to  be.  England's  new  policy  paid,  for  from  1840 
to  1879  her  tonnage  movement,  that  is,  the  entrances 
and  clearances  of  English  ports,  grew  from  6,490,485 
tons  to  30,943,506  tons,  or  an  increase  of  476  per 
cent. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FREE    SHIPS. 

ALL  other  nations  have  the  power  of  buying  ships 
for  foreign  trade  in  the  cheapest  market,  and  the  ef- 
fort to  protect  our  shipbuilders  by  the  denial  of  this 
right  forbids  the  return  of  commercial  prosperity. 
In  the  coast  trade,  foreign  interference  can  be  ex- 
cluded, but  upon  the  high  seas  our  rivals  cannot  be 
taxed  ;  we  labor  under  the  disadvantages  of  tradi- 
tionally higher  wages  and  better  rations  ;  but  the 
same  skill  which  enabled  us  up  to  1860,  with  well 
fed,  well  paid  and  more  intelligent  crews,  to  over- 
come these  difficulties,  will  not  desert  us  now.  By 
treaty  we  grant  to  Germans  trading  in  ships  of  any 
build  every  right  allowed  our  citizens  in  American 
built  ships.  Norway  and  Sweden,  under  commercial 
treaties,  claim  every  privilege  conceded  to  the  Ger- 
mans ;  and  as  France  and  England  are  granted  by 
law  all  concessions  yielded  to  the  most  favored  na- 
tions, we  have  practically  given  the  maritime  peoples 
the  power  to  compete  freely  with  free  ships  for  a 
trade  we  deny  our  merchants.  Under  this  dispensa- 
tion our  seaboard  cities  have  become  stations  where 
foreigners  may  loot  our  producers ;  we  survey,  buoy, 
and  police  our  harbors  mainly  for  foreign  guests  ; 
and  our  grand  lighthouse  system  holds  out  to  burn 
so  that  these  sinners  against  our  greatness  may 


46  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

return,  unregenerated,  unrepentant,  and  voracious 
for  more  of  our  material  advantages.  This  is  an  ag- 
ricultural country,  nine-tenths  of  our  products  for 
export  being  no  further  advanced  in  manufacture 
than  hogs  idealized  into  pork,  and  wheat  transmuted 
into  flour,  which,  being  as  perishable  as  they  are 
beautiful,  must  go  abroad.  To  the  monopolists, 
free  ships  or  ships  protected  mean  nothing  ;  but  to 
the  farmer,  transportation  spells  profit  or  loss,  life 
or  death  almost.  Millions  are  annually  appropri- 
ated for  railways,  canals,  river  and  harbor  improve- 
ments, simply  to  move  crops  which,  arriving  at  the 
seaboard,  find  a  lame  and  impotent  conclusion  in 
foreign  ships,  ruled  by  a  combination  of  home  rail- 
ways and  alien  shipowners  and  insurance  companies. 
As  a  rule,  competition  eastward  keeps  down  the 
price,  but  a  syndicate  of  railroad  men,  charitably 
excited  by  our  necessities,  can  tax  the  country  mil- 
lions of  dollars  by  increasing  freights  a  few  cents  a 
bushel  on  wheat  and  a  dollar  a  ton  on  other  articles, 
which  find  at  the  home  ports,  not  three  thousand 
ship-captains  bidding  for  cargoes,  but  a  secret  agree- 
ment like  that  of  1873,  when  the  great  transatlantic 
lines  pooled  and  bled  the  country  of  millions. 

Free  ships  foster  American  interests,  while  the 
other  policy  develops,  and  will  develop,  the  material 
greatness  of  other  countries.  There  is  no  injustice 
of  indiscrimination  in  subjecting  to  a  high  rate  of 
duties  commodities  imported  separately,  while  allow- 
ing the  vessels  composed  of  these  articles  to  be  im- 
ported free  ;  for  the  former  are  thrown  upon  a  protected 
market  where  the  burden  can  be  distributed,  and  the  latter 
compete  in  open  market  with  ships  that  are  unrestricted. 


FREE   SHIPS.  47 

We  will  not  buy  the  condemned  ships  of  England, 
and  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  the  same  judgment  in 
the  employment  of  a  means  to  an  end  will  be  ex- 
erted here  as  in  any  other  path  where  every  justly 
balanced  and  economic  element  must  be  considered. 
This  great  national  question  bears  a  special  mean- 
ing to  the  service,  for  no  law  is  better  defined  than 
the  correlation  and  interdependence  of  the  mercan- 
tile and  naval  marines.  Honest  men  differ  hon- 
estly as  to  causes  and  to  remedies,  and  the  way  is  not 
always  clear  ;  but  fairly  considered,  it  seems  that  in 
the  generalization  of  free  ships  lies  the  answer  to  the 
great  economic  enigma  ;  its  literature  is  open  to  all, 
and  the  examples  of  our  past  and  the  past  of  other 
nations  are  of  history.  Superiority  in  the  carrying 
trade  is  not  due  to  the  facility  with  which  steamers 
can  be  built,  nor  to  any  one  of  a  half-dozen  different 
elements  ;  the  books  of  the  shipbuilders  of  the  Tyne 
and  the  Clyde  show  that  they  build  vessels  as  read- 
ily for  other  nations  as  for  their  own  ;  and  in  ex- 
plaining this,  an  English  writer  declares  that  if  the 
Americans  had  ten  years  ago  repealed  their  suicidal 
Navigation  Law,  and  bought  or  built  a  steamer  for 
every  British  steamer  built  on  the  Clyde,  they  would 
to-day  be  in  some  position  to  compete  with  England 
in  the  carrying  trade,  instead  of  having  to  deplore 
their  present  state  of  destitution.  "  The  effects  pro- 
duced by  changes  in  the  conditions  of  an  industry 
are  inevitable,  and  cannot  be  avoided  by  legislation  ; 
the  only  solution  that  gives,  is  to  cause  the  loss  to 
fall  on  some  other  set  of  people  instead  of  on  those 
directly  interested.  Again  :  it  is  evident  that  a  coun- 
try needing  a  protective  tariff  on  iron  and  steel  can- 


48  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

not  expect  to  supply  ships  for  ocean  traffic  at  the 
low  price  of  competing  constructors  in  countries  of 
no  tariff.  For  the  country  which  by  hypothesis 
needs  a  protective  tariff  on  iron  and  steel  cannot 
produce  these  articles  as  cheaply  as  some  other 
country.  Its  ships,  however,  must  compete  upon 
the  ocean  with  those  of  the  country  which  has  cheap 
iron  and  steel.  The  former  embody  a  larger  capital 
than  the  latter,  and  they  must  be  driven  from  the 
ocean.  If  then  subsidies  are  given  to  protect  the 
carrying  trade  when  prosecuted  in  ships  built  of 
protected  iron,  the  loss  is  transferred  from  the  ship- 
owners to  the  people  who  pay  taxes  on  shore. 
These  taxes,  however,  add  to  the  cost  of  production 
of  all  things  produced  in  the  country,  and  thereby 
lessen  the  power  of  the  country  to  compete  in  for- 
eign commerce.  This  lessens  the  amount  of  goods 
to  be  carried  both  out  and  in,  lowers  freights, 
throws  ships  out  of  use,  checks  the  building  of 
ships,  and  the  whole  series  of  legislative  aids  and 
encouragements  must  be  begun  over  again,  with  a 
repetition  and  intensification  of  the  same  results " 
(Prof.  Sumner). 

The  men  who  ask  for  free  ships  are  not  the  reckless 
theorizers  their  adversaries  claim,  and  what  they  ask 
can  be  best  exhibited  in  the  particularized  items, 
submitted  in  a  late  memorial  to  Congress  : 

1.  The  admission  to  American  register  of  all  ships 
over  3,000  tons,  subject  to  the  same  laws  regarding 
ownership  that  now  prevail. 

2.  The  admission  of  all  materials  to  be  used  in  the 
construction  and  repair  of  vessels  of  over  3,000  tons 
duty  free. 


FREE   SHIPS.  49 

3.  The  adoption  of  new  tonnage  measurements, 
based  on  actual  carrying  capacity  and  excluding  the 
space  occupied  by  engines  and  boilers  and  accom- 
modations for  officers  and  crew. 

4.  Exemption  from  taxation,  local  and  national, 
of  all  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  for  more 
than  eight  months  of  the  year. 

5.  Permission  for  all  American  vessels  in  the  for- 
eign trade  to  take  their  stores  and  ship-chandlery 
out  of  bond  duty  free. 

6.  A  general  revision  of  the  laws  relating  to  sea- 
men and  to  the  consular  service. 

As  already  shown,  the  advocates  of  both  the  great 
theories  of  relief  accept  all  these  conditions,  save 
the  first  and  second,  as  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
regeneration  of  our  merchant  marine  ;  nay,  many 
go  so  far  as  to  find  the  second  so  little  a  matter  of 
dispute  that  the  adverse  views  may  be  said  to  separ- 
ate only  upon  the  first.  Taken  generally,  the  de- 
mands as  formulated  are  moderate,  and  fairly  repre- 
sent the  juste  milieu,  the  golden  mean,  that  has  been 
attained  by  concession  through  the  belief  that  any- 
thing more  radical  would  not,  under  our  govern- 
mental theory  of  taxation  and  with  the  existing 
conditions  of  the  industries  themselves,  be  justifi- 
able. By  the  proposed  remedies  an  American  is 
enabled  to  buy  his  ship  in  the  best  and  cheapest 
market,  and  to  place  it  under  the  protection  of  a 
flag  that  is  in  little  danger  of  war  from  outside  com- 
plications. At  the  same  time,  under  the  restrictions 
of  ownership,  no  foreign  power,  Great  Britain  for 
example,  whose  safety-valve  and  temper-check  are 
in  her  carrying  trade,  would  be  able  in  war  to  place 
4 


5O  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHI'  ••., 

her  navigation  interests  under  our  p*ciection  with- 
out relinquishing  ownership  ;  and  alarmists  may 
therefore  be  certain  that  she  will  not  be  able  to  re- 
sort to  the  well-knewn  process  of  whitewashing — a 
system  of  bills  of  sale  with  counter-mortgages — 
while  holding  fast  to  our  legitimate  opportunities. 

What  is  more,  both  by  original  constructions  and 
repairs,  ship-building  would,  under  the  liberal  plan 
proposed,  be  stimulated,  and  not  only  would  the 
corps  of  skilled  workmen  be  retained,  but  private 
shops  filled  with  eager  apprentices  must,  of  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  case,  spring  up  wherever  coal  and 
iron  and  deep  water-fronts  made  shipbuilding  feasi- 
ble. 

Other  remedies  have  been  suggested,  and  they 
run  the  gamut  of  theory,  from  the  wildest  license  of 
Free  Trade  to  the  grimmest  asceticism  of  Protection. 
These  admit  only  of  the  briefest  notice.  One  is  a 
change  of  policy  with  respect  to  international  trade, 
a  revival  of  the  law  of  1817  which  forbade  any  ship  to 
bring  a  cargo  to  the  United  States  except  from  the 
ports  of  the  country  to  which  it  belonged.  This 
policy  might  result  in  profit  with  South  America 
and  Asia,  for  those  countries  own  few  ships  trading 
to  the  United  States,  and  we  have  commerce  with 
them  ;  but  England  and  the  other  maritime  nations 
would  doubtless  respond  by  a  like  enactment,  and 
thus  deprive  our  ships  of  nearly  all  the  general  trade 
we  have  outside  our  own  country.  As  this  is  a  simple 
question  of  what  will  pay  best,  this  proposed  relapse 
into  the  practices  of  barbarism  need  not  be  consid- 
ered here  ;  neither  would  it  be  germane  to  call  it,  in 
this  age  of  private  enterprise,  the  employment  of  a 


FREE  SHIPS.  51 

policy  that  characterized  the  idyllic  days  when  every 
essay  was  seconded  by  the  sanction  and  effort  of  pa- 
ternal government ;  though  as  a  matter  of  demon- 
strable fact  it  may  be  sufficient  to  affirm  that  we 
would  lose  much,  and  not  even  get  the  credit  of  be- 
ing martyrs  to  progress. 

Mr.  Elaine  solves  the  problem  by  bounties,  for 
this  purpose  enacting  a  general  law  which  ignores 
individuals  and  enforces  a  policy.  His  scheme  pro- 
vides that  any  man  or  company  of  men  who  will  build 
in  an  American  yard,  with  American  material  by  Am- 
erican mechanics,  a  steamship  of  three  thousand  tons, 
and  sail  her  from  any  port  of  the  United  States  to  any 
foreign  port,  he  or  they  shall  receive,  for  a  monthly 
line  a  mail  allowance  of  $25  per  mile  per  annum  for 
the  sailing  distance  between  the  two  ports  ;  for  a  semi- 
monthly line  $45  per  mile,  and  for  a  weekly  line  $75 
per  mile.  Should  the  steamer  exceed  three  thousand 
tons,  a  small  advance  on  these  rates  might  be  allowed ; 
if  less,  a  corresponding  reduction  might  be  made, 
keeping  three  thousand  as  the  average  and  standard. 
Other  reformers  propose  a  bounty  to  be  given  by  the 
government  to  the  shipbuilder  so  as  to  make  the 
price  of  an  American  vessel  the  same  as  that  of  a 
foreign-bought,  equally  good  but  presumably  cheap- 
er, ship.  This  will  be  brought  about  positively 
by  hard  cash,  negatively  by  discriminative  duties. 
There  are  a  few  enthusiasts,  generally  socialists  and 
foreigners,  who  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less 
than  both  the  immediate  abolition  of  all  duties — not 
even  retaining  a  modest  tariff  on  luxuries  for 
revenue — and  the  opening  of  the  coast  and  domestic 
trade  to  the  world.  And  last  of  all,  at  the  other 


52  THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

swing  of  the  pendulum,  there  are  kindred  spirits 
who  would  abolish  seamen,  ships,  and  seas,  turning 
the  last,  for  the  eternal  and  cloistered  happiness  of 
America,  into  walls  of  fire  that  would  ban  the  for- 
eign commercial  invader. 

What  is  most  wanted  is  action,  action,  action. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  this  hour  Con- 
gress has  not  passed  a  single  act  to  uphold  the  for- 
eign carrying  trade,  and  during  the  same  time  it  has 
enacted  ninety-two  laws  in  aid  of  internal  transpor- 
tation, has  given  in  public  lands  an  acreage  larger 
than  that  of  the  original  States,  and  has  added 
$70,000,000  in  money.  A  thorough-going  Congres- 
sional investigation  of  the  whole  subject  of  our  com- 
merce, manufactures,  and  navigation  would  be  of 
great  service  in  enabling  merchants  and  the  govern- 
ment to  co-operate  harmoniously  and  intelligently. 
It  would  bring  about  a  better  understanding  be- 
tween the  agricultural,  industrial,  and  mercantile 
classes,  and,  revealing  the  directions  in  which  effort 
should  be  expended,  it  would  tend  to  give  us  what 
we  greatly  lack  and  so  much  need,  "  a  national  policy 
with  respect  to  navigation"  Something  should  be  done 
to  make  the  ocean  mail  service  bring  a  fair  return  to 
the  carriers ;  as  our  theory  is  that  postages  shall  be 
rated  so  as  merely  to  pay  expenses,  it  does  not  seem 
fair  to  an  important  and  admirable  service  that  the 
$400,000  of  receipts  over  expenditures  for  foreign 
mails  should  be  retained  by  the  government  for  the 
benefit  of  star  routes  that  begin  and  end  nowhere  ; 
other  conditions  being  equal,  give  the  mails  to  our 
own  lines,  pay  a  fair  price  for  their  transportation, 
and  above  all  things  release  our  ships  at  once  from 


FREE  SHIPS.  53 

the  existing  burdensome  postal  restrictions.1  Rigid 
inspections  of  vessels  should  be  imperative  ;  so  that 
in  the  event  of  a  change  in  the  Registry  laws,  no  ves- 
sel could  be  admitted  to  the  benefit  of  our  protection 
which  would  not  be  so  well-found  and  serviceable  as 
to  entitle  her  to  a  high  rating. 

In  Free  Ships  with  the  co-ordinate  measures  of  re- 
lief is  the  only  solution  of  the  problem  submitted  for 
discussion  and  proof.  As  yet  the  popular  voice  is 
not  hoarse  from  singing  of  anthems  in  favor  of  the 
policy,  and  in  high  places  there  is  much  contemptu- 
ous denial  of  its  claims  ;  but  an  active  and  an  able 
minority  believes  that  the  cause  is  just  and  worthy 
of  fighting  for,  and  that  in  the  end  success  is  certain 
to  come.  Sketching  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws, 
Buckle  writes  :  "  Those  who  knew  the  facts  opposed 
the  laws  ;  those  who  were  ignorant  of  the  facts  fa- 
vored the  laws.  It  was  therefore  clear  that  whenever 
the  diffusion  of  knowledge  reached  a  certain  point 

1  The  merchant  vessels  of  the  United  States  are  compelled  by  law 
to  carry  all  mail  offered  to  their  masters  by  post-office  authorities 
here  and  by  consuls  abroad,  and  to  accept  such  compensation  as 
Congress  directs.  "  The  necessity  of  delivering  the  mails  is  fre- 
quently a  source  of  delay  and  great  expense  to  a  ship  .  .  . 
whose  plans  upon  touching  at  some  port  for  telegraphic  advices  from 
home  may  be  changed  by  the  owners.  No  matter  what  the  trouble, 
the  ship  is  compelled  to  deliver  the  mails  assigned,  or  forfeit  all  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  a  vessel  of  the  United  States."  Stages  and 
wagons  receive  an  average  of  $28  per  mile  of  route  per  annum  ; 
coast  and  river  steamers,  $43.50  ;  railroads,  $131 — the  compensa- 
tion to  these  last  ranging  all  the  way  from  $35  to  $538,  $897  and 
$1,155.  Merchant  vessels  get  only  about  $i  per  mile  per  annum, — 
the  American  steamers  from  Philadelphia  to  Liverpool  receiving,  for 
instance,  about  80  cents. 


54  THE   QUESTION  OF   SHIPS. 

the  laws  must  fall.  .  .  .  The  opposition  the  reform- 
ers had  to  encounter  was  immense,  and  although 
the  principles  of  Free  Trade  had  been  established 
for  nearly  a  century  by  a  chain  of  arguments  as 
solid  as  those  on  which  the  truth  of  mathematics  is 
based,  they  were  to  the  last  moment  strenuously  re- 
sisted." 

The  instinct  for  our  country's  good  through  that 
larger  freedom  and  more  equal  justice  for  all  men 
which  vivify  this  question,  has  had  just  such  a  past, 
and  is  finding  just  such  a  present  ;  but  to  those  who 
watch,  there  are  not  wanting  signs  and  portents  of 
an  equal  triumph  for  its  future. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MARINE  DISASTERS. — THE    IMPORTANCE  OF    A    THOROUGH 
TRAINING    FOR   OFFICERS   AND   SEAMEN. 

THERE  is  a  growing  interest  throughout  the  country 
in  the  revival  of  our  merchant  marine.  In  newspa- 
pers and  legislative  bodies  there  is  apparent  a  larger 
appreciation  of  the  vitality  of  the  question,  and  those 
who  have  most  persistently  insisted  upon  the  value 
of  the  industry  as  an  important  factor  in  the  prob- 
lem of  national  wealth  and  happiness  have  never 
been  more  hopeful  that  some  relief  would  be  granted 
by  Congress.  Connected  intimately  with  this  meas- 
ure there  are  other  interests  which  must  not  be  ne- 
glected, and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to 
anticipate  the  demands  that  will  be  made  upon  it. 
Ships  without  effective  crews  cannot  compete  suc- 
cessfully in  an  age  where  commercial  power  is  the 
price  of  unceasing  vigilance  and  economy  ;  and  the 
officers  and  men  of  our  merchant  vessels  should  in  the 
next  decade  be  as  much  superior  to  the  complements 
of  ships  of  any  other  nation  as  they  were  in  those 
glorious  days  of  rivalry  when  American  pluck  and 
skill  almost  wrested  the  commerce  of  the  world  from 
England.  At  present  we  have  few  modern  ships  ; 
there  is  no  school  afloat  in  which  merchant  sailors 
can  be  trained,  and  the  60,000  seamen  we  had  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  have  disappeared.  Since  1856 


56  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

the  evolution  and  development  of  new  theories  of 
commerce  make  new  demands  upon  the  navigation 
interests,  and  yet  without  a  home  fleet  to  give  this 
training  in  youth,  nor  examinations  and  other  tests 
to  make  it  obligatory  in  manhood,  we  are  discussing 
the  creation  of  a  modern  steam  fleet,  to  command 
which  there  are  few  officers  properly  qualified  either 
by  training  or  experience.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  an  error  of  judgment  or  a  want  of  information 
upon  a  simple  matter  may  in  some  cases,  nay,  has  in 
many,  led  to  the  sacrifice  of  hundreds  of  lives,  or  that 
a  single  shipwreck  may  represent  $2,500,000,  it  be- 
comes a  question  both  with  the  government  and  with 
shipowners  to  find  the  best  men  capable  for  such  enor- 
mous responsibility.  On  shore,  where  a  thousand 
unforeseen  circumstances  do  not  complicate  the 
question,  a  person  intrusted  with  an  enterprise  of 
equal  pecuniary  magnitude  would  be  required  to 
furnish  most  crucial  tests  of  his  fitness  for  the  busi- 
ness in  hand  ;  and  no  company  nor  legislative  body 
would  be  acquitted  of  blame  which  failed  to  take 
the  precautions  that  promised  reasonable  security 
to  invested  capital  and  absolute  safety  to  human  life. 
As  yet  our  government  has  done  almost  nothing, 
though  periodically  some  unhonored  and  unsung 
PHmsoll  does  attempt  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  service  and  to  ameliorate  the  hardships»of  a  life 
which  it  does  not  need  man's  injustice  or  careless- 
ness to  make  among  the  most  rigorous  in  the  human 
environment.  It  is  true  that  the  shipping  of  seamen 
is  under  control  of  government  officers,  but  this  is 
not,  under  the  existing  regulations,  an  unmixed 
blessing.  For  the  steamboat  service  there  is  a  rule 


MARINE  DISASTERS.  57 

of  thumb  inspection  which  is  conducted  by  a  star- 
chamber  process,  in  a  rough  and  ready  kind  of  way  ; 
and  the  Life  Saving  Service  and  Revenue  Marine, 
with  limited  appropriations,  are  doing  as  good  work 
as  can  be  expected  from  the  imperfect  organizations 
which  further  personal  interests  and  hamper  general 
efficiency.  Still,  so  far  as  any  general  law  goes,  or 
the  possession  of  any  new  system  regulating  the  con- 
ditions which  perforce  surround  the  control  of  mer- 
chant shipping,  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  none 
exists.  Abroad  the  subject  has  received  the  closest 
attention,  and  to-day  the  efficiency  of  the  British 
sailor  is  so  much  improved  that  where  ten  years 
since  the  average  of  tons  carried  by  each  seaman  was 
only  278,  now  it  is  436,  or  in  a  ratio  of  the  labor  of 
two  men  in  1883  equalling  that  of  three  in  1873.  In 
our  whole  country  there  is  but  one  ship  in  which 
the  future  merchantman  is  receiving  preliminary 
training ;  and,  though  the  work  of  the  St  Mary's.is 
most  excellent,  yet  it  seems  absurd  that  out  of 
$3>5°°>000  appropriated  for  education  in  the  State 
the  one  hundred  and  twentieth  part  only  should  go 
to  the  schooling  of  the  men  who  are  to  man  and 
command  the  ships  of  the  future.  Still  worse  is  it 
that  a  State  should  be  compelled  to  burden  its  citi- 
zens with  duties  that  belong  to  the  people  of  a  whole 
country  ;  and  it  would  be  farcical,  were  it  not  almost 
criminal,  to  find  a  population  of  50,000,000  contribut- 
ing each  year  about  twenty-five  trained  American 
boys  to  a  commerce  which,  notwithstanding  its  un- 
paralleled decadence,  is  still  the  second  in  the  world. 
In  1880  the  number  of  men  employed  in  English 
merchant  ships  was  200,000 — 120,000  in  sailing  ves- 


58  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

sels,  and  80,000  in  steamers — and  of  these  the  esti- 
mated annual  waste  reached  the  enormous  figure  of 
16,000,  500  alone  being  officers  ;  to  replace  this  loss 
is  a  question  that  has  received  intelligent  study  and 
action,  yet  with  government  aid  and  comfort  and 
the  commissioning  of  eighteen  training  ships,  two  of 
which  are  for  officers,  this  annual  waste  is  so  illy  re- 
placed that  England  is  compelled  to  man  her  ships 
with  foreigners  to  some  considerable  degree.  The 
first  duty  of  a  sailor  is  evidently  to  take  care  of  his 
ship  ;  to  navigate  her  upon  the  high  seas,  and  with 
safety  and  certainty  to  make  his  ports  of  destination  ; 
yet  to-day  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  one-half  of  the 
wrecks  are  due  to  preventable  causes,  and  that  in 
England,  for  example,  two-thirds  of  the  wreckages 
are  set  down  by  the  British  Board  of  Trade  as  the 
results  of  ignorance  and  incompetency.  If  this  be 
true,  and  statistics  prove  it,  under  a  system  which 
demands  from  masters  and  mates  the  possession  of 
certain  elements  of  fitness  for  their  duties  it  would 
be  natural  to  deduce  that  in  a  country  where  no 
specially  tested  qualifications  are  required  more  dis- 
asters would  occur  ;  otherwise  education  and  train- 
ing go  for  nothing.  Then  again,  there  should  be 
under  the  first  system  a  relative  annual  decrease  of 
wreckages,  for  if  this  do  not  appear  then  the  safe- 
guards which  the  nations  are  giving  each  year  to 
navigation  are  useless,  and  in  vain  are  the  surveys, 
lighthouse  organizations,  improved  instruments  of 
navigation,  steam  lanes,  charts,  etc.,  which  supple- 
ment the  diffusion  of  nautical  science  and  the  execu- 
tive control  over  insurance  corporations,  ship  own- 
ers and  merchant  masters  and  their  assistants. 


MARINE  DISASTERS.  59 

Certain  writers  have  claimed  that  an  analysis  of 
the  files  of  the  Bureau  Veritas  and  of  the  English 
wrecking  list  confirms  the  statement  that,  as  the  ton- 
nage of  the  merchant  marine  increases  each  year,  so 
in  like  proportion  do  the  disasters  to  vessels  seem 
to  grow.  Broadly  tested  this  is  not  true  ;  for,  apart 
from  every  other  reasonable  consideration,  it  im- 
plies either  that  the  same  intelligence  and  the  same 
application  of  means  to  an  end  are  not  being  em- 
ployed in  the  science  of  navigation  as  in  every  other 
economic  question,  or  that  the  morality  of  seafaring 
people  in  an  age  when  the  world  is  improving  must 
tie  retrograding.  Professor  Rogers  finds,  from  his 
comparisons  and  examination  of  trade  statistics,  that 
in  Great  Britain  there  is  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  wrecks  and  casualties,  with  a  decrease  in  the 
number  of  vessels,  this  decrease  for  the  years  1856- 
1873  being  i  per  cent.  In  the  same  period  the  in- 
crease of  tonnage  was  19  per  cent.  ;  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  wrecks,  including  collisions,  was  33 
per  cent.  ;  the  increase  in  the  number  of  collisions 
was  23  per  cent.,  and  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
wrecks,  excluding  collisions,  36  per  cent.  Compar- 
ing the  number  of  collisions  which  occurred  in 
Great  Britain  with  those  of  the  United  States,  he 
finds  that  the  ratio  of  the  former  is  as  i  to  67,  and 
that  of  the  latter  as  i  to  43  ;  therefore,  he  argues, 
since  in  a  large  number  of  cases  the  average  of  all 
causes,  except  carelessness,  which  produces  colli- 
sions must  be  a  constant,  the  modulus  of  careless- 
ness between  the  two  countries  may  be  stated  to  be 
nearly  at  2  to  3  in  our  favor.  He  finds  further 
that  the  proportion  of  wreckages,  excluding  colli- 


60  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

sions,  is  somewhat  less  with  us,  though  he  admits 
that  the  data  of  the  Life  Saving  Service,  except  for 
the  past  four  years,  is  neither  full  nor  reliable. 
There  is  a  wide  discrepancy  between  these  results 
and  those  of  Mulhall,  who  shows,  upon  an  examina- 
tion of  Lloyd's  Register,  that  between  1880  and  the 
preceding  fourteen  years  there  were  in  1866-1879  an 
average  of  2,171  vessels  lost,  and  in  1880  2,193,  an 
increase  of  but  i  per  cent.  ;  while  in  the  same  period 
the  over-sea  traffic  had  risen  over  70  per  cent.  A 
writer  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  supposed  by  Brassey 
in  his  book  on  British  seamen  to  be  Farrer,  a  mas- 
ter of  statistics  and  of  administrative  and  legislative 
details,  says  for  every  ship  lost  in  1833-35  there  were 
3,794  tons  on  the  register  and  7,714  tons  in  foreign 
trade  ;  while  in  1870-72  there  were  6,547  tons  on  the 
register  and  24,909  so  employed.  For  every  100  tons 
lost  in  1833-35  tne  tons  were  respectively  2,656  and 
5,401,  and  in  1876-72  the  figures  were  2,242  and  8,529. 
For  every  life  lost  in  1833-35  there  were  2,276  tons  on 
the  register  and  4,628  tons  in  the  foreign  trade,  and 
in  1870-72  the  statistics  give  3,635  and  13,831  tons. 
Tabulating  these  figures  they  appear  as  follows  : — 


Tons  on  Register. 
,                                  1833-35.         1870-72. 

Tons  in  Foreign  Trade, 
United  Kingdom. 
1833-35.           1870-72. 

For  every  ship  lost  

3.794 

6,547 

*    7,7H 

24,909 

For  every  TOO  tons  lost. 

2,656 

2,242 

5,401 

8,529 

For  every  life  lost  

2,276 

3,663 

4,628 

13.831 

The  above  results  are  so  striking  that  he  had  them 
tested  in  another  way.  The  number  of  ships  actu- 
ally employed  in  the  trade  of  the  United  Kingdom 
being  known  from  the  year  1849,  the  number  em- 
ployed in  the  earlier  years  has  been  estimated  from 


MARINE  DISASTERS.  6l 

them,  and  the  wrecks  at  the  different  periods  have 
been  compared  with  these  numbers,  showing  the 
average  annual  percentage  of  ships  lost  to  average 
number  of  ships  employed  to  be  as  follows  : — 


Periods.  Average. 

5 3-72 


Periods.  Average. 

1860-62    3.00 

1841-42 3.20       i       1870-72 2.95 

These  figures  dispose  of  the  allegation  that  em- 
ployment in  British  shipping  is  far  more  dangerous 
now  than  it  was  forty  years  ago,  at  a  time  antecedent 
to  the  repeal  of  the  navigation  laws. 

Between  1866  and  1880  the  steam  tonnage  in- 
creased from  about  1,500,000  to  4,000,000  tons,  and 
its  carrying  capacity  from  40  to  6 1  per  cent,  as  com- 
pared to  a  decrease  in  sail-carrying  tonnage  of  from 
60  to  39  per  cent. 

The  relative  national  losses  of  vessels  in  the  same 
period  are  shown  by  Kaier,  an  eminent  Norwegian 
statistician,  to  have  been:  — 

Steamers.  Sailing  Vessels.  Total. 

1879.                                             Per  Cent  Per  Cent.  Per  Cent. 

United  States 4.06  5.45  9.51 

Dutch 3.84  4.49  8.33 

British 2.94  3.93  6.87 

German 2.77  4.04  6.81 

French 2.47  4.04  6.51 

Scandinavian 1.96  3. 20  $• I^ 

Italian 1.74  2.94  4.68 

This  disproves  the  assertion  so  often  made  that 
the  relative  loss  of  steamers  is  greater  than  that  of 
sailing  vessels  ;  and  it  makes  apparent  that  our  loss 
is  the  greatest,  a  third  more  than  England  and 
double  that  of  Italy,  and  that  the  fewest  wrecks  oc- 
cur among  Italian  vessels,  due  probably  to  the  fact 


62 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 


that  in  all  long  voyages  increased  care  is  secured  be- 
cause each  sailor  has  a  share  in  the  ship.  It  will  be 
seen  that  Norwegians  have,  likewise,  a  very  low  per- 
centage, which  may  arise  from  the  preponderance  of 
sailors  and  ship-owners  in  that  country  ;  for  there  is 
almost  a  ton  of  shipping  for  each  inhabitant,  or  five 
times  as  much  as  the  ratio  in  Great  Britain.  Allow- 
ing three  voyages  yearly  for  a  sailing  vessel  and 
fifteen  for  a  steamer,  the  first  is  lost  once  in  72  voy- 
ages and  the  second  once  in  490  voyages,  giving  the 
latter  class  but  one  seventh  the  risk  of  the  former. 
The  ordinary  life  of  a  ship  is,  in  the  United  States, 
1 8  years  ;  in  France,  20  years  ;  in  Holland,  22  years  ; 
in  Germany,  25  years  ;  in  Great  Britain,  26  years  ; 
in  Italy,  28  years,  and  in  Norway,  30  years.  The 
annual  death-rate  of  the  world's  shipping  is  4  per 
cent,  or  about  750,000  tons,  and  the  birth-rate  5  per 
cent,  or  950,000  tons  of  vessels  built ;  but  since  the 
substitution  of  steamers  for  sailing  vessels  gives  an 
augmentation  of  4  per  cent,  in  carrying  power  the 
loss  is  represented  by  1,200,000  tons  annually,  and 
the  gain  is  about  double,  or  2,322,000  tons.  During 
1882,  198  steamers  were  lost,  the  nationality  and 
tonnage  being  as  follows  : — 


Nation. 


No.        Tonnage.         Nation. 


No.       Tonnage. 


British 141  151,041 

French 6  6,486 

German 5  4, 562 

Spanish 4  4, 177 

Belgian 3  4,643 

Chilean 2  1, 150 


American 15  1 1, 568 

Danish 6  3,274 

Swedish 4  2,458 

Dutch 3  4,390 

Brazilian 3  4, 643 

Various 8  4,425 


Four  of  these  steamers  were  built  of  steel,  five  of 
wood,  and  the  remainder  of  iron  ;  the  largest  pro- 


MARINE  DISASTERS.  63 

portion  of  these  losses  was  due  to  stranding,  99 
being  cast  away  by  the  ignorance,  over-confidence 
or  carelessness  of  the  people  in  charge  ;  30  were  lost 
by  collision,  40  foundered,  7  were  burned,  6  were 
abandoned,  2  were  sunk  by  ice,  i  broken  in  two,  i 
exploded,  and  n  were  missing.  Very  few  sailors 
know  the  number  of  ships  that  have  never  been 
heard  from  after  leaving  port,  for  in  Great  Britain 
alone,  in  1873-74,  there  were  80  vessels  missing ;  in 
1874-75, 137,  and  in  1875-76,  101  ;  between  1864-1869, 
of  10,588  reported  lost,  the  fates  of  846  are  unknown, 
and  even  this  frightful  list  is  said  to  be  less  than 
more  accurate  information  or  more  extended  insur- 
ance would  show.  In  1877  the  losses  of  the  English 
merchant  marine  comprised  560  sailing  vessels 
and  68  steamers,  representing  a  value  with  cargoes 
of  $18,000,000  and  of  2,700  lives  ;  and  in  1875  the 
total  wrecks  of  all  nationalities  were  4,259,  or  a 
number  equal  to  that  employed  in  our  whole  sea- 
going service.  Appliances,  however,  for  saving  life 
are  becoming  every  year  more  effective,  no  less  than 
1,295  crews  having  been  saved  in  1880,  as  compared 
with  an  average  of  1,023  ^n  tne  preceding  years. 
The  number  of  persons  drowned  by  shipwreck  in 
1880  was  1,725,  and  the  average  per  annum  since 
1866  was  1,775,  showing  a  decrease  of  3  per  cent. 

A  careful  investigation  of  the  causes  of  wreckage 
shows  many  curious  and  unexpected  results.  Among 
other  general  principles  which  have  been  deduced 
is  that  over  one-half  the  number  of  wrecks  occur 
when  the  wind  blows  less  than  a  fresh  gale,  or 
when  a  ship,  if  properly  found,  manned,  and  nav- 
igated, could  keep  the  sea  with  safety.  From  1864 


64 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 


to  1874,  inclusive,  229  vessels  were  wrecked  during 
calm  weather ;  360,  in  light  airs ;  1,010,  light 
breezes ;  405,  gentle  breezes ;  1,689,  moderate 
breezes  ;  2,131,  fresh  breezes  ;  2,329,  strong  breezes  ; 
919,  moderate  gales  ;  1,020,  fresh  gales  ;  4,320,  strong 
gales;  1,921,  whole  gales;  373,  storms;  666,  hurri- 
canes ;  57,  variable,  and  639  unknown.  The  num- 
ber of  wrecks  is  proportionally  larger  for  new  vessels 
than  for  those  that  have  reached  the  average  age  of 
service.  Without  giving  the  general  table  which 
may  be  found  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  United 
States  Naval  Institute  "  (vol.  vii.  No.  3)  and  in  Plim- 
soll's  "  Monograph  on  Seamen,"  the  statistics  show 
the  age  of  greatest  loss  for  England  is  between  the 
twenty-first  and  thirtieth  years  of  the  ship's  age — 
3,418  being  lost  then  as  compared  to  1,802  between 
the  thirty-first  and  fortieth  years  ;  2,747  were  lost  be- 
tween the  fifteenth  and  twentieth  years,  as  compared 
to  3,111  between  the  third  and  seventh  years. 


Country  and  Period. 

$a 

r 

•aJ 

feS 

1' 

o 
cT 

4 

o 

.j 

£ 

•a 

•iw 

'? 

s^ 

| 

0 

" 

1 

n 

u 

fa 

O 

o 

^ 

h 

Mean     Great     Britain, 

I864.-74  . 

2~l<( 

6?? 

T?6 

146 

02 

nX 

147 

621 

2,2IO 

Mean    United    States, 

I87C-7Q.  . 

44" 

2  ^0 

«T 

00 

1  2O 

267 

16 

620 

1,0^8 

Totals  

'  '' 

J* 

' 

682 

882 

2O7 

245i213 

365 

179 

J.^o 

4,148 

For  the  United  States  the  greatest  loss  is  between 
the  third  and  seventh  years,  1,267  wrecks  as  com- 
pared to  875  between  the  fourteenth  and  twentieth 


MARINE  DISASTERS.  6$ 

years,  and  874  before  the  third  year.  To  a  large  ex- 
tent the  number  of  wrecks  is  dependent  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  cargoes  carried. 

After  making  a  liberal  allowance  for  the  larger 
number  of  vessels  engaged  in  certain  kinds  of  trade, 
it  still  remains  proved  that  there  is  an  excessive 
number  of  wrecks  corresponding  to  certain  classes 
of  cargoes.  Colliers  are  the  most  exposed  to  danger  ; 
next  come  ships  in  ballast,  and  then  lumber  vessels, 
these  last  being  indubitably  caused  by  the  venerable 
age  and  decrepit  character  of  the  craft  employed. 
To  become  a  "  lumber  drogher,"  as  it  is  called,  is  the 
sere  and  yellow  leaf  of  a  ship's  existence,  and  as  one 
of  these  wallows  across  the  Western  Ocean  or  down 
the  North  Seas  it  is  the  scoff  and  jest  of  every  trim- 
built  clipper  which  shows  a  foaming  wake  and  an 
underwriter's  rate  that  are  the  golden  dreams  of  the 
ocean  tramp's  skipper.  With  steamers  grain  and  coal 
are  the  most  dangerous  cargoes.  The  latter  is  apt  to 
cause  loss  by  spontaneous  combustion,  caused  by  the 
shipment  of  certain  kinds  of  coal  in  a  wet  condition, 
together  with  bad  ventilation  through  the  body  of  the 
cargo.  No  extraordinary  precautions  are  needed,  but 
ordinary  care  is  not  always  given,  whether  from  ig- 
norance or  carelessness,  or  from  both,  it  is  difficult  to 
say.  This  is  more  difficult  to  understand  when  an 
effective  tell-tale  which  gives  warning  of  danger  can 
be  made  by  inserting  through  the  top  of  an  ordi- 
nary thermometer  a  copper  wire  that  will  extend  to 
the  100  degrees  line  Fahrenheit,  for  example.  This 
wire  is  in  electrical  connection  with  a  battery  and 
an  alarm  bell  kept  in  any  convenient  spot.  The  mo- 
ment the  temperature  of  the  heating  coal  expands 
S 


66  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

the  mercury  to  the  100  degrees  mark,  the  circuit  is 
closed  through  the  wire,  battery,  bell,  and  the  re- 
turn wire  to  the  mercury  bulb  at  the  bottom  of  the 
thermometer,  and  a  signal  is  rung  continuously. 

Grain  cargoes  are  still  improperly  loaded  in  bulk, 
and  are  often  stowed  without  shifting  boards ;  and 
there  are  not  wanting  underwriters  who  will  insure 
such  cargoes,  often  at  values  both  of  ship  and  freight 
which  they  know  to  be  fictitious.  For  fraudulent 
insurance  is  a  prolific  cause  of  wrecks,  and  what  is 
worse,  in  England,  where  those  things  are  ordered 
differently,  the  remedy  is  not  apparent.  In  our 
country  we  have  insurance  men  who,  for  skill  and 
probity,  are  unsurpassed  in  the  world,  and  yet  in- 
quiry among  them  demonstrates  the  futility  of  hop- 
ing to  eradicate  this  criminal  practice.  In  1867 
there  were  in  the  Baltic  215  British  vessels  and  220 
Swedish.  The  former  had  large  insurances  and  the 
latter  scarcely  any,  and  of  these  17  British  vessels 
and  3  Swedish  were  lost.  From  1857  to  1867  the 
ratio  of  loss  was  10  British  to  3  Swedish,  and  this 
difference  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  any  superior 
skill  of  the  north  country  navigator,  and  gives  inter- 
nal evidence  of  no  relation  to  any  underlying  cause 
save  the  differences  between  the  amounts  of  insur- 
ance. 

Two  sources  of  information  are  open  to  any  one 
wishing  to  ascertain  the  ratio  of  wrecks  and  to  de- 
duce the  causes  : — First,  the  numerical  data  fur- 
nished by  the  Bureau  Veritas  of  France,  by  the 
Wreck  Register  for  Great  Britain,  and  by  the  re- 
ports of  the  Life  Saving  Service  of  the  United 
States.  Secondly,  the  comparison  of  the  findings  of 


MARINE  DISASTERS.  6/ 

the  courts  of  inquiry  upon  the  causes  of  wrecks, 
casualties  and  collisions,  ordered  by  the  British 
Board  of  Trade  or  reported  to  this  Board.  By  the 
Merchants'  Shipping  Act  of  1854  it  was  assumed  in 
the  preliminary  courts  of  inquiry  that  a  vessel  might 
be  lost  by  any  one  of  thirteen  specified  causes,  the 
list  beginning  with  the  act  of  God,  running  through 
culpable  inefficiency,  and  ending  by  the  act  of  the 
Queen's  enemies.  At  present  the  causes  are  rele- 
gated to  four  classes  : — First,  accidents,  etc. ;  second, 
errors,  ignorance,  neglect,  etc.  ;  third,  defective  ma- 
terial ;  fourth,  perils  of  the  sea.  From  an  examina- 
tion of  15,828  English  and  1,367  American  casual- 
ties, it  was  found  that  for  the  total  number  of 
wrecks,  excluding  collisions,  45  per  cent,  was  due  to 
preventable  causes,  and  in  1,267  trials  by  the  officers 
of  the  British  Board  of  Trade  there  were  but  504 
clear  acquittals.  Including  with  these  the  class  of 
wrecks  for  which  no  cause  can  be  safely  assigned, 
that  involving  vessels  which  were  never  heard  from 
after  sailing,  and  those  other  wrecks  for  which  it  is 
exceedingly  difficult  to  determine  the  true  cause,  the 
general  conclusion  is  reached  that  about  one-half  of 
all  the  wrecks  which  occur  are  due  to  preventable 
causes.  That  is,  ignorance  or  dishonesty  is  the  fruit- 
ful source  of  an  enormous  loss  of  life  and  capital 
which  could  be  saved. 

The  remedy  for  these,  for  both  can  be  treated 
with  some  hope  of  cure,  is  in  education.  The  law- 
makers should  be  educated  so  as  to  frame  a  general 
law  which  will  elevate  and  protect  the  merchant  mar- 
ine. In  England  the  Merchants'  Shipping  Act  has 
been  productive  of  the  greatest  good,  and,  as  has 


68  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

been  shown,  there  is  every  year  a  steady  decrease  in 
the  number  of  wrecks  ;  and  as  the  tests  for  officers' 
certificates  are  increased  there  will  be  a  like  de- 
crease in  the  causes  now  classed  as  preventable. 
With  us  especially,  should  a  committee  be  intrusted 
with  the  duty  of  providing  an  organization,  the 
duties  of  which  will  be  analogous  to  those  of  the 
British  Board  of  Trade  ;  and  in  place  of  one  school- 
ship  there  should  be  a  dozen,  governed  under  the 
same  general  plan  as  the  Naval  Training  Squadron, 
and  turning  out  yearly,  if  not  enough  lads  to  supply 
the  annual  loss  of  American  seamen,  at  least  enough 
to  fill  the  place  of  the  officers,  without  whom  we 
would  be  almost  helpless  in  peace  or  war.  We  want 
good  officers,  not  only  for  the  protection  of  life  and 
property,  but  also  to  secure  for  our  seamen  judicious 
and  thorough  commanders.  Under  the  most  strin- 
gent inspections,  inefficiency  upon  the  part  of  the 
master  often  leads  to  shipwreck,  and  it  is  only  by 
enabling  officers  and  men  to  learn  their  duties — pro- 
fessional and  moral — and  subjecting  them  periodi- 
cally to  tests  and  examinations,  that  we  can  be  as- 
sured vital  interests  are  not  being  sacrificed.  Sailors 
are  the  pioneers  of  civilization  and,  with  maritime 
countries,  the  reliance  upon  which  the  nation's  honor 
and  safety  mainly  depend. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FOREIGN   SYSTEMS   OF   ADMINISTRATION. 

AN  intelligent  English  officer  declared,  in  a  discussion 
upon  the  relative  values  of  French  and  British  naval 
training,  that  one  suffered  from  too  much  system 
and  the  other  from  too  little,  and  that  English  su- 
premacy— which  he  claimed — was  in  spite,  not  in  con- 
sequence either  of  national  legislation  or  of  public 
spirit  In  these  days,  when  trade  is  the  active  so- 
cial principle,  many  radical  changes  have  been  in- 
troduced in  commercial  theories,  and  there  is  a 
wider  appreciation  of  its  demands  and  of  the  close 
relation  existing  between  national  and  merchant 
marines.  Abroad  these  changes  have  generally 
been  in  the  direction  of  progress,  but  at  home  not 
only  has  there  been  retrogression,  but  an  absence  of 
that  genius  which,  despite  national  neglect,  should 
have  triumphed  over  an  unfavorable  environment 
and  placed  us,  at  least,  upon  an  equality  with  those 
smaller  nations  which  of  old  we  scorned  as  rivals. 
Our  navy  has  been  made  ridiculous  by  insufficient 
appropriation,  and  the  same  criminal  carelessness 
of  Congress,  acting  in  other  channels,  has  nearly 
driven  from  the  sea  a  merchant  marine  which  five 
and  twenty  years  since  was  the  peer  of  England's  in 
size  and  value,  and  the  unchallenged  superior  of 
every  other  nation's  in  promise  and  efficiency.  The 


70  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

country,  however,  seems  awakening  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  sea-going  trade,  and  our  future  is  not 
without  hope.  What  we  should  do  to  meet  the  de- 
mands to  be  made  upon  us  is  not  always  clear,  but 
after  thirty  years'  trial  in  other  countries  certain 
principles  as  points  of  departure  maybe  said  to  have 
been  established.  Between  the  rigorous  lines  which 
the  government  in  France  lays  down  for  the  conduct 
of  every  enterprise  and  our  own  untrammelled  lib- 
erty of  neglect  there  must  be  a  golden  mean.  No- 
where is  there  apparent  a  system  so  harmonious 
that  every  national  condition  can  be  satisfied,  but 
there  are  evident,  wherever  any  system  does  exist,  the 
possibilities  of  a  compromise  between  that  executive 
control  arid  that  unhampered  energy  of  the  indivi- 
dual, which  show  in  a  tentative  age  like  ours  what  a 
wiser  generation  may  accomplish. 

France,  Italy,  Great  Britain,  Russia,  and  the  North 
Countries  rejoice  in  a  plan  of  some  sort,  but  so  far 
as  our  necessities  demand,  and  to  the  degree  that 
practice  can  justify  theory,  England  of  all  the  na- 
tions appears  to  have  secured  what  we  should  essay. 
Not  that  her  plan  is  perfect ;  for  wreckages,  bad 
management,  and  criminal  loss  of  life — all  due  to 
preventable  causes — justify  the  demands  for  im- 
provement which  so  many  thinkers  advance.  In- 
deed, there  are  not  wanting  men  of  a  wide  experi- 
ence in  ship  owning  and  ship  governing  who  declare 
that,  since  the  repeal  of  the  navigation  laws,  eighty- 
nine  per  cent,  of  the  British  seamen  has  deteriorated 
professionally,  sixty-five  per  cent,  physically,  and 
seventy-one  per  cent,  morally.  On  the  other  hand, 
experts  like  Brassey,  Lindsay,  and  Farrer  deny  this 


FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      Jl 

and  affirm,  upon  what  seem  fair  grounds  of  proof, 
that  the  sailor  of  our  time  is  as  competent  as  any 
seaman  of  the  days  of  Drake  or  Nelson,  and  in  every 
direction  is  more  to  be  depended  upon  than  in  those 
years  of  long  voyages,  hard  knocks,  and  scurvy.  And 
as  it  is  with  the  men  so  it  is  with  the  officers,  for, 
without  yielding  a  tithe  of  the  admiration  and  re- 
spect which  justly  belongs  to  the  mates  and  masters 
of  the  old  clipper  ships,  it  is  undeniable  that  the 
demands  made  upon  the  modern  merchant  officer, 
where  a  modern  marine  exists,  have  resulted  in  the 
necessity  for  and  the  production  of  a  superior  man. 
This  last  is  especially  true  in  England,  and,  though 
something  is  attributable  to  the  upward  lift  of  all 
classes  in  the  wave-sweep  of  progress,  yet  it  is 
mainly  due  to  the  conditions  which  the  British  sys- 
tem imposes.  France  does  well,  but  her  best  ships 
are  commanded  by  naval  officers,  and  her  plan  is 
based  upon  a  theory  which,  however  suited  it  may 
be  to  our  necessities,  is  at  variance  with  our  national 
instincts.  Its  underlying  principle  is  that  every  in- 
dividual owes  personal  service  to  the  State,  either  in 
the  army  or  navy  ;  and  it  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
that  paternal  rule  which  is  the  basis  of  every  Gallic 
trial  of  government,  be  the  theories  of  the  rulers  of  the 
hour  or  accident  what  they  may.  For  two  hundred 
years  the  seafaring  classes  have  accepted  this,  but  it 
is  certain  we  would  dare  neither  to  justify  nor  to  put 
it  in  practice.  One  of  its  consequences  is  to  give 
France  to-day  the  best  internal  naval  organization 
in  the  world.  Under  its  perfection  of  detail  a  sailor 
may  be  transferred  from  a  three-decker  gunnery- 
ship,  manned  by  over  a  thousand  men,  to  a  corvette 


72  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

with  a  personnel  of  two  hundred,  and  without 
changing  the  station  number  given  him  in  the  first 
ship,  take  up  his  duties  and  perform  in  the  second 
proportionally  the  same  amount  of  labor  alow  and 
aloft. 

The  merchant  service  is  under  equally  rigorous 
control,  and  as  every  man  in  it  must  at  some  time 
have  served  in  the  national  fleet,  it  is  at  all  seasons  a 
reserve  from  which  trained  men  can  be  drawn  in 
any  emergency.  The  crews  of  the  French  navy  are 
supplied  from  three  sources — first  from  the  inscription 
maritime ;  secondly,  from  voluntary  enlistment,  and 
thirdly,  these  methods  failing,  from  conscription  in 
the  political  departments  touched  by  the  tides. 
The  greatest  number  belong  to  the  first  class  ;  in  it  is 
inscribed  every  one  who  has  arrived  at  his  eighteenth 
year  and  who  has  made  two  deep-sea  voyages,  either 
in  a  public  or  a  private  ship,  or  who  has  been  for 
eighteen  months  in  the  coasting  trade,  or  for  two 
years  in  the  home  fisheries,  and  who  in  every  case 
declares  himself  as  wishing  to  continue  a  seafaring 
life.  All  persons  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
working  of  steam  machinery  afloat  are  likewise  sub- 
ject to  this  inscription,  and  are  called  into  active 
service  when  the  twentieth  year  is  attained.  The 
first  period  of  obligatory  service  is  for  five  years, 
three  of  which  must  be  in  actual  service  afloat ;  but 
at  any  time,  and  especially  during  the  fourth  and 
fifth  years,  leave  without  pay  may  be  granted  to  go 
to  sea  in  any  capacity,  and  should  this  leave  be 
spent  in  the  coasting  trade,  home  fisheries,  or  on 
short  voyages,  the  time  is  counted  as  if  employed  in 
the  service  of  the  State.  Succeeding  this  first  pe- 


FOREIGN   SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      73 

riod  there  is  another  of  two  years,  during  which  the 
inscrit  is  nearly  always  in  the  position  of  renew- 
able leave.  Certain  advantages  accrue  for  this  ser- 
vice. Inscribed  seafaring  men  alone  have  the  right 
to  follow  that  trade  ;  they  are  freed  from  the  public 
service  save  in  the  navy  and  at  marine  arsenals  dur- 
ing periods  of  necessity ;  they  can  decline  to  have 
soldiers  billeted  upon  them  during  their  term  of 
service  and  for  four  months  after  its  expiration  ; 
they  are  exempt  from  acting  as  guardians  to  minors  ; 
they  are  admitted  gratuitously  to  the  hydrographic 
schools  established  for  those  who  wish  to  prepare 
for  the  grade  of  officer,  and  they  can  travel  while  in 
service — that  is,  for  seven  years — on  all  railways  at 
one-fourth  rates.  No  person  may  command  a  mer- 
chant vessel  unless  he  is  twenty-four  years  of  age 
and  has  passed  sixty  months  at  sea  in  actual  service 
on  board  either  a  man-of-war  or  a  merchant  ship. 
His  birth  certificate,  a  record  of  his  services,  and  a 
testimonial  of  good  conduct,  attested  by  the  mayor 
of  his  place  and  vt'sJby  the  commissioner  of  the 
inscription  maritime  of  his  arrondissement,  must  be 
produced,  and,  in  addition,  he  must  give  evidence 
of  his  professional  and  intellectual  attainment  be- 
fore a  board  of  rigorous  examiners.  After  twenty- 
five  years  seafaring,  or  after  the  fiftieth  year  has 
been  reached,  every  one  on  the  inscription  list  is 
entitled  to  a  pension,  whether  he  has  done  any  actual 
service  to  the  State  or  not.  These  particulars,  which 
are  taken  from  excellent  reports  by  Lieutenant 
Commander  Chadwick  and  Professor  James  Russell 
Soley,  both  of  the  United  States  Navy,  make  evi- 
dent that  this  system  is  not  adapted  to  the  needs  of 


74  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

our  country,  and  during  later  political  excitements 
in  France  sufficient  protest  has  been  awakened 
to  show  that,  if  the  tradition  and  precedent  of  so 
many  years  did  not  sustain  its  claims,  the  system 
would  be  replaced  by  some  other  which  would  not 
so  largely  imperil  personal  freedom  and  so  vigorous- 
ly shackle  individual  energy.  That  its  effects  in 
certain  directions  have  been  good  is  unquestionable, 
but  the  characteristic  fault  of  too  much  system  is 
everywhere  apparent.  There  is  a  sacrifice  of  results 
to  methods,  and  efforts  seem  to  be  exerted  which 
look  rather  to  the  perfection  of  the  machinery  than 
to  the  work  done  by  the  machine.  It  is  the  outcome 
of  extreme  centralization,  though  fortunately  the 
evil  effects  reach  more  nearly  the  minor  details  than 
the  larger  plan,  for,  as  in  all  such  systems  where  the 
agents  ally  great  personal  ability  with  a  willingness 
to  sacrifice  much  but  not  all  to  the  logical  idea,  suf- 
ficient elasticity  has  resulted  to  give  a  unity  of  pur- 
pose, a  distinct  perception  of  the  ends  proposed,  and 
an  adaptation  of  means  to  reach  them.  The  wonder- 
ful organization,  although  dating  from  Colbert's 
time,  was  first  revealed  during  the  Crimean  war,  and 
showed  how  much  France  owed  primarily  to  its  great 
finance  minister,  then  to  Lalande  and  Hugon,  and 
later  to  De  Joinville,  a  prince  of  the  blood,  and  one 
of  the  best  sailors  who  ever  walked  a  ship's  deck. 

England  learned  by  actual  comparison  afloat  both 
the  low  state  of  her  seamen  and  her  want  of  any  sys- 
tem, and  there  were  naval  experts  who  grimly  con- 
fessed that  the  next  Trafalgar  might  have  a  Breton 
Nelson  who  flew  a  tricolor  at  his  masthead  and  ran 
up  signals  that  began  and  ended  with  La  France. 


FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      75 

Humiliating  as  the  lesson  might  be  it  was  made  a 
wholesome  one,  and  the  results  of  intelligent  study 
have  enabled  England  to  replace  an  annual  waste 
of  twenty-four  hundred  blue  jackets  with  an  equal 
number  of  trained  apprentices,  who,  individually, 
are  worth  a  dozen  of  the  riff-raff  formerly  sold  by 
the  crimps  at  a  guinea  a  head  to  the  press  gangs  and 
recruiting  officers.  Nor  has  the  merchant  service 
been  forgotten,  and  when  we  see  a  concrete  and  co- 
herent system  which  tends  to  the  continuous  im- 
provement of  workingmen  who  should  be  placed  upon 
the  same  basis  as  those  of  any  other  trade,  we  can- 
not but  be  alarmed  for  our  future  where  effort  may 
be  wanting  in  the  direction  of  necessary  radical 
change.  We  have  never  had  a  definite  plan  in  this 
country,  the  interests  of  owners  being  supposed  suf- 
ficient to  guarantee  proper  shipkeepers,  and,  trust- 
ing to  this  or  to  some  other  unhappy  chance,  we 
have  silenced  all  mild  protests  and  throttled  all  at- 
tempted energy  by  emphatic  affirmations  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  good  old  days  when  we  were  the  favorite 
commerce  carriers. 

It  is  evident  that  to  maintain  an  efficient  mercantile 
marine  four  conditions  must  exist  :  First,  there  must 
be  a  centralized  system ;  secondly,  effective  ships ; 
thirdly,  good  officers  and  crews  ;  and  fourthly,  an 
adequate  reserve  for  supplying  deficiencies  in  the 
personnel.  No  country  has  more  fully  recognized 
the  importance  of  these  correlated  interests  than 
Great  Britain,  and  to-day  the  proof  of  her  apprecia- 
tion rests  upon  the  incontrovertible  fact  that  she  is 
the  leading  maritime  nation  of  the  world. 

The  English  system  went  into  effect  with  the  en- 


?6  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

actment,  in  1854,  of  the  Merchant  Shipping  Act.  This 
was  amended  in  1855  and  in  1862  ;  and  finally,  in 
1867,  was  given  the  form  which  it  retains  substan- 
tially to  this  day.  In  the  "  Manual "  codified  by  a 
London  publisher,  the  acts  are  arranged,  according 
to  subject-matter,  under  eleven  heads  : — First,  The 
Board  of  Trade  ;  second,  British  Ships  ;  third,  Mas- 
ters and  Owners  ;  fourth,  Safety  and  Prevention  of 
Accidents  ;  fifth,  Pilotage ;  sixth,  Lighthouses  ; 
seventh,  Mercantile  Marine  Fund  ;  eighth,  Wrecks  ; 
ninth,  Liability  of  Shipowners  ;  tenth,  Legal  Proce- 
dure, and  eleventh,  Miscellaneous — under  this  last 
chapter  being  included  regulations  for  coolie  con- 
tract labor,  power  of  colonial  legislatures  to  alter 
provisions  of  the  act,  etc.  The  enumeration  of 
these  eleven  general  divisions,  with  the  variety  and 
preciseness  of  details  under  each,  gives  evidence  of 
the  great  labor  and  intelligence  devoted  to  the  ques- 
tion in  England,  and  makes  it,  so  far  as  breadth 
and  particularity  go,  an  unequalled  code  of  mari- 
time law. 

The  book  is  prefaced  by  a  short  chapter  in  which 
the  short  titles  of  the  acts  and  the  legal  terms  em- 
ployed are  briefly  defined.  Among  these  last  Her 
Majesty's  dominions  are  said  to  be  the  dominions  so 
called  and  all  territories  either  under  the  govern- 
ment of  the  East  India  Company  or  governed  by 
any  charter  or  license  from  the  Crown  or  Parlia- 
ment. A  British  possession  is  any  colony,  planta- 
tion, island,  and  settlement  within  the  dominion  and 
not  within  the  United  Kingdom.  In  all  of  these  the 
Acts  are  operative  under  certain  privileges  accorded 
colonies,  and  to  carry  them  out  there  is  constituted 


FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      77 

a  Board  of  Trade,  which  is  defined  to  be  "  the  Lords 
of  the  Committee  of  Privy  Council,  appointed  for 
the  consideration  of  matters  relating  to  trade  and 
foreign  plantations." 

To  the  Marine  Department  of  this  Board  of  Trade 
is  entrusted  the  general  superintendence  of  all  mat- 
ters relating  to  British  Merchant  Ships.  Under  the 
general  heads  enumerated  above,  the  Board  has  di- 
rect or  appellate  control  of  the  description  and 
ownership  of  British  vessels  ;  of  the  tonnage,  meas- 
urement, and  registry  ;  of  the  transfer  and  transmis- 
sion of  shares  on  ships  ;  of  mortgages  and  sales  ;  and 
of  forgeries  and  false  declarations  of  ownership. 
Under  the  caption  of  Masters  and  Seamen  is  stated 
the  authority  which  decides  all  questions  affecting  the 
personnel  of  the  service.  It  regulates  and  establishes 
Local  Marine  Boards  and  Mercantile  Marine  Offices 
and  the  examinations  and  certifications  of  masters, 
mates,  and  engineers.  It  provides  apprentices  to  sea 
service,  and  has  control  of  the  engagement  of  sea- 
men, allotments  and  remittances  of  wages,  savings- 
banks  for  seamen,  legal  claims  to  wages  and  mode  of 
recovery  on  default  of  payment,  relief  to  seamen's 
families  out  of  the  poor-rates,  wages  and  effects  of  de- 
ceased seamen  ;  discharge  of  seamen  abroad  ;  relief 
and  return  of  distressed  seamen  ;  volunteering  into 
the  naval  service  ;  provisions,  sanitary  rules,  and  ac- 
commodations ;  protection  of  seamen  from  imposi- 
tion ;  internal  and  general  discipline ;  naval  courts 
relating  to  the  merchant  marine  on  the  high  seas  and 
abroad  ;  registration  and  returns  respecting  seamen  ; 
official  logs  ;  unseaworthy  ships  ;  greatest  draught 
of  water  ;  deck  and  load  lines  ;  boats  for  sea-going 


78  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

ships  ;  ships'  lights  and  fog-signals  ;  rule  of  the  road 
at  sea  ;  build,  equipment,  and  survey  of  steamers  ; 
misconduct  of  passengers  on  steamers  ;  inquiries 
into  accidents,  casualties,  wrecks,  and  salvage  ;  gen- 
eral supervision  of  pilotage  as  established  by  local 
authorities,  including  the  general  regulations  for 
pilot  boats,  licenses,  signals,  licenses  for  masters 
and  mates,  compulsory  pilotage,  and  the  rights, 
privileges,  remuneration,  and  offences  of  all  pilots  ; 
and  finally,  of  the  mercantile  marine  fund.  The  man- 
agement of  light-houses,  beacons,  and  buoys  lies 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  special  authorities  for  each 
of  the  three  Kingdoms :  the  Trinity  House  for  Eng- 
land, the  Commissioners  of  the  Northern  Light  for 
Scotland,  and  the  Corporation  of  the  Port  of  Dublin 
for  Ireland.  Under  such  specific  regulations  the 
seamen  of  Great  Britain  are  trained,  shipped,  pro- 
tected, and  discharged  under  all  possible  contingen- 
cies. Of  the  various  duties  cited  here  only  a  few 
need  further  explanation. 

Local  Marine  Boards  are  subordinate  officers  of  ad- 
ministration established  in  seaports  and  other  selected 
places  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  the  law.  These 
boards  are  made  up  of  three  classes — first,  of  the  ex 
officio  members,  consisting  of  the  mayor  or  provost 
and  stipendiary  magistrate  of  the  place,  or  such  of 
them  as  the  Board  of  Trade  selects  ;  secondly,  of  four 
members  chosen  by  the  same  authority  from  persons 
residing  in  or  having  a  place  of  business  at  or  within 
six  miles  of  the  port ;  and  thirdly,  of  six  other  mem- 
bers elected  for  three  years  by  the  owners  of  ships 
registered  in  the  port,  every  owner  of  not  less  than 
250  tons  having  for  every  250  tons  one  vote  for  each 


FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      79 

member,  providing  that  no  one  individual's  one  shall 
exceed  ten.  This  local  board  controls  the  maritime 
affairs  of  the  district,  establishes  shipping  offices 
now  called  mercantile  marine  offices,  and  appoints 
over  each  of  these  a  superintendent.  The  duties  of 
this  officer  are  to  afford  facilities  for  engaging  seamen 
by  keeping  registries  of  their  names  and  characters  ; 
to  superintend  their  engagement  and  discharge  ;  to 
provide  means  for  securing  their  presence  on  ship- 
board at  the  proper  time  and  in  proper  condition,  and 
to  encourage  and  provide  apprenticeships.  In  the 
port  of  London  there  is  established  a  General  Regis- 
trar and  Record  Office  of  Seamen,  under  charge  of 
the  Registrar  General,  who  is  appointed  by  the  Board 
of  Trade.  In  order  to  assist  him  in  the  registry  of 
all  persons  who  serve  in  ships,  every  master  of  a 
vessel  the  crew  of  which  is  discharged  in  the  United 
Kingdom  must  make  out  and  sign  a  list  containing 
the  following  particulars : — First,  the  number  and 
date  of  the  ship's  register  and  her  registered  tonnage ; 
secondly,  the  length  and  general  nature  of  the  voy- 
age or  employment ;  thirdly,  the  Christian  names, 
surnames,  ages,  and  places  of  birth  of  all  the  crew, 
their  qualities  on  board,  their  last  employment,  and 
the  date  and  place  of  shipment ;  fourthly,  the  names 
of  any  members  of  the  crew  who  have  died  or  who 
have  otherwise  ceased  to  belong  to  the  ship,  with  the 
wages  due  them,  together  with  all  the  attendant 
circumstances  of  death,  desertion,  etc. ;  fifthly,  the 
names  of  any  of  the  crew  who  have  been  maimed ; 
sixthly,  the  name,  age  and  sex  of  every  person  not 
of  the  crew  who  has  died  on  board  ;  seventhly,  similar 
data  of  births ;  and  eighthly,  every  marriage  on  board. 


80  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

These  lists  are  forwarded  through  the  superintendent 
before  whom  the  crew  is  discharged,  and  in  the  case 
of  foreign-going  ships  must  be  handed  in  within 
forty-eight  hours  after  the  ship's  arrival  at  her  final 
port  or  upon  the  discharge  of  the  crew,  whichever 
first  happens,  under  a  penalty  of  ^"6  for  every  de- 
fault. Besides  this  all  officers  of  the  customs  are  or- 
dered to  detain  any  such  ship  unless  the  master 
produces  a  certificate  from  the  superintendent  that 
his  list  has  been  forwarded.  A  similar  list  must  be 
delivered,  under  like  penalties,  by  the  master  of  any 
home  trade  ship  within  twenty-one  days  after  June 
3oth  and  December  3151  in  every  year,  thus  enabling 
a  complete  record  of  every  British  seaman  to  be 
kept,  and  giving  the  government  power  not  only  to 
exercise  a  judicious  control  over  a  most  important 
class  of  its  producers,  but  to  form  some  just  opinion 
of  its  resources  for  any  emergency  which  may  arise 
either  in  peace  or  war. 

Under  the  act  ships  include  every  description  of 
vessel  used  in  navigation  not  propelled  by  oars  ; 
they  are  divided  into  two  classes — first,  foreign-go- 
ing ships,  which  embrace  all  vessels  trading  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  places  situ- 
ated off  its  own  coast  and  the  islands  of  Guernsey, 
Jersey,  Sark,  Alderney,  and  Man,  and  all  that  part 
of  the  Continent  of  Europe  between  Havre  and  the 
River  Elbe  ;  secondly,  home  trade  ships,  which  dis- 
tinguish all  vessels  the  voyages  of  which  are  con- 
fined to  the  limits  specified  above.  Foreign-going 
ships  cannot  legally  proceed  to  sea  unless  the  mas- 
ters, or  the  first  and  second  or  only  mates  have  cer- 
tificates either  of  competency  or  service  ;  rror  home 


FOREIGN   SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      8 1 

trade  ships  unless  the  masters  and  first  or  only  mate 
possess  such  certificates  ;  and  no  ship  of  any  class 
of  100  tons  burden  or  upward  can  start  on  a  voyage 
unless  at  least  one  person  besides  the  master  has  a 
valid  certificate  appropriate  to  his  grade.  To  check 
fraud  every  person  who  ships  in  any  of  these  grades 
without  such  a  certificate,  or  any  person  who  know- 
ingly employs  him,  or  without  ascertaining  that  he 
has  such  a  certificate,  incurs  a  penalty  not  exceed- 
ing ^50  for  each  offence.  The  certificate  of  com- 
petency is  the  one  now  most  in  use,  especially  in 
the  junior  grades,  and  is  given  to  such  applicants  as 
pass  a  set  examination  and  comply  otherwise  with 
certain  conditions  of  sobriety,  morality,  etc.  The 
testimonials  of  service  entitle  officers  who  served 
either  as  masters  or  mates  in  foreign  going  ships  be- 
fore January  i,  1851,  or  on  home  trade  ships  before 
the  same  date  in  1854,  to  serve  in  like  capacities  ; 
and  is  further  extended  to  include  all  officers  who 
obtained  the  grade  of  past  mate  and  above  in  the 
English  naval  or  the  East  India  Company's  service. 
Any  such  officer,  upon  the  production  of  testimo- 
nials as  to  character,  is  entitled  to  obtain  a  certifi- 
cate as  master  of  a  merchant  ship.  There  are  simi- 
lar certificates  given  to  engineers,  that  of  service 
being  for  persons  who  served  as  first  or  second  class 
engineers  in  government  or  private  employ  before 
April,  1862,  certain  conditions  as  to  the  size  of  the 
ship  and  the  officers'  grades  in  the  latter  service  de- 
termining whether  their  certificates  shall  be  first  or 
second  class.  Certificates  of  competency  for  a  for- 
eign-going ship  entitle  the  holder  to  the  command 
of  any  ship,  but  those  for  the  home  trade  are  rigo- 
6 


82  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

rously  confined  to  service  in  that  class.  In  order  to 
determine  the  fitness  of  applicants  rules  for  the  con- 
duct of  examinations  have  been  published,  and  ex- 
aminers have  been  appointed  by  the  local  boards  for 
each  district.  These  examiners  are  rarely  over  two 
in  number,  and  may  be  selected  from  either  the  naval 
or  merchant  service  ;  though  in  some  cases  the  one 
employed  to  test  the  navigation  knowledge  of  an  ap- 
plicant has  been  a  civilian  with  a  special  knowledge 
of  that  science  and  without  any  sea  training.  The 
examination  days  are  arranged  for  general  conven- 
ience, so  that  a  candidate  who  wishes  to  go  to  sea 
and  misses  the  day  at  his  own  port,  may  proceed  to 
another  where  the  Board  is  in  session.  Except  in 
London  and  Liverpool,  where  certain  hours  and 
days  of  the  week  are  made  obligatory,  candidates 
must  give  their  names  to  the  local  board  on  or  be- 
fore the  day  of  examination,  and  .  at  all  times  testi- 
monials as  to  character  must  be  submitted  in  ample 
season  to  permit  their  verification  at  the  office  of 
the  Registrar  General.  In  the  case  of  foreigners  or 
of  British  seamen  serving  in  foreign  vessels,  these 
testimonials  must  be  officially  confirmed  by  some 
authority  of  the  foreign  country  to  which  the  per- 
son or  ship  belongs,  or  failing  that,  by  the  evidence 
of  some  credible  witness. 

The  grades  for  which  examinations  must  be 
passed  are  second,  only  and  first  mate,  master  and 
extra  master  in  foreign-going  ships  ;  mate  and  mas- 
ter in  home  trade  ships,  and  first  and  second  class 
engineers  in  all  steamers,  with  a  voluntary  exami- 
nation for  all  masters  and  mates  in  steam.  A  sec- 
ond mate  must  be  seventeen  years  of  age  and  have 


FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      83 

been  four  years  at  sea ;  an  only  mate  must  be  nine- 
teen years  of  age  and  have  been  five  years  at  sea, 
and  a  first  mate  have  the  same  age  and  sea  service, 
with  at  least  one  year's  experience  as  second  or  only 
mate.  The  qualifications  demanded  of  the  two 
lower  grades  are  those  which  are  supplied  by  what 
is  known  in  this  country  as  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, with  some  rough  knowledge  of  simple  naviga- 
tion and  an  acquaintance  with  signalling.  Practi- 
cal seamanship  and  the  ability  to  keep  an  ordinary 
watch  are  also  requisite,  with  an  intelligent  under- 
standing of  life-saving  appliances.  Added  to  these  a 
mate  must  be  able  in  navigation  to  observe  azimuths 
and  compute  the  variation  of  the  compass  ;  to  com- 
pare chronometers  and  to  keep  their  rates,  and  from 
them  to  find  the  longitude  by  observations  of  the  sun, 
and  to  determine  the  latitude  by  single  altitudes  of  the 
sun  off  the  meridian;  finally  he  must  be  able  to  adjust 
and  use  the  sextant  in  all  observations.  In  seamanship 
he  must  give  evidence  of  a  superior  knowledge,  such 
as  would  entitle  him  to  be  trusted  with  the  ship  in 
bad  weather,  to  handle  sails,  to  shift  spars,  to  get  in 
heavy  weights  and  to  stow  a  hold.  A  master  must 
be  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  have  been  six  years 
at  sea,  for  two  of  which  at  least  he  must  have  been 
a  first  and  second  mate  ;  his  testimonials  must  be  of 
a  first  class  character,  and  added  to  the  qualifications 
demanded  of  a  mate,  he  must  be  able  to  find  the 
latitude  by  sun  and  star,  to  compute  the  variation  of 
the  compass  in  all  the  usual  ways,  to  explain  the 
law  of  tides  and,  from  the  full  and  change  of  the 
moon,  find  the  state  of  the  tide  at  any  hour  in  any 
part  of  the  world ;  and  finally,  he  must  explain  the 


84  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

nature  and  mode  of  determining  the  extent  of  the 
attraction  ol  the  ship's  iron  upon  the  comprss.  In 
seamanship  he  must  show  a  capability  to  deal  with 
any  maritime  emergency  and  to  care  for  his  ship 
under  unexpected  and  perilous  circumstances  ;  he 
must  know  how  to  make  jury-rudders,  build  rafts, 
and  understand  signalling  so  as  to  tell  at  a  glance 
their  characters  and  in  many  cases  their  meaning 
without  referring  to  the  book  ;  he  must  be  able  to 
manage  mortars  and  rocket-lines  in  case  of  strand- 
ing, and  be  acquainted  with  the  leading  lights  of  the 
channels  he  has  been  accustomed  to  navigate  or 
which  he  is  likely  to  employ.  He  is  questioned  as 
to  his  knowledge  of  invoices,  charter  parties  and 
Lloyds'  Agents,  and  besides  knowing  the  nature  of 
bottomry  he  must  possess  a  sufficient  acquaintance 
with  the  provisions  of  law  relating  to  entry,  and  dis- 
charge and  management  of  his  crew,  and  with  the  pen- 
alties and  entries  to  be  made  in  the  official  log-book. 
He  must,  as  a  matter  of  conscience,  understand  his 
medicine  chest,  for  his  clientele  lies  without  the  pur- 
view of  "  crowners'  quests,"  and  he  must  be  able  to 
mitigate  or  prevent  scurvy  on  shipboard.  An  extra 
master's  examination  is  voluntary  and  is  intended 
only  for  persons  who  desire  to  obtain  certificates  of 
the  highest  grade.  Its  demands  are  quite  rigorous 
and  fall  below  only  those  practical  tests  to  which 
ensigns  in  the  navy  are  subjected. 

Looked  at  broadly  all  these  examinations  serve,  so 
far  as  any  examination  can,  to  prove  an  officer's  fit- 
ness for  the  grade  to  which  he  aspires.  It  is  claimed 
that  they  are  loosely  conducted  and  that  many  in- 
capable candidates  pass  owing  to  the  carelessness, 


FOREIGN   SYSTEMS   OF  ADMINISTRATION.      85 

venality,  or  over-indulgence  of  the  examiners ;  but 
from  the  characters  of  the  men  selected  for  this  last 
duty  it  may  be  safely  argued  that  the  number  of  ap- 
plicants who  slip  through  is  small. 

The  Norwegian  government  has  endeavored  to 
assimilate  the  condition  of  the  naval  and  mercantile 
services,  and  has  made  intellectual  attainments  ob- 
ligatory upon  the  merchant  masters.  The  results 
have  been  to  form  a  sober  and  an  intelligent  class, 
that  has  secured  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the 
maritime  peoples.  It  is  not  unfrequent  that  naval 
lieutenants  obtain  permission  to  command  merchant- 
men, and  public  policy  there,  as  it  should  every- 
where, dictates  that  masters  and  mates  should  be  men 
of  education  and  special  training,  qualified  for  use- 
ful and  brilliant  service  to  their  country  in  time  of 
need.  Under  this  centralized  system  most  excellent 
results  have  been  attained.  And  it  is  only  where  such 
exist  that  maritime  success  may  be  assured. 

What  then  are  we  to  expect  when  we  have  no 
tests,  and  it  rests  only  with  the  ship-owner  to  deter- 
mine who  shall  be  intrusted  with  property  of  which 
his  share  may  be  the  smallest  part  ?  In  England 
they  are  striving  every  day  to  advance  the  scheme 
of  examinations,  and  to  eradicate  faults  which  they 
claim  arise  more  from  the  lowness  of  the  standard 
than  from  any  other  pregnant  cause.  It  certainly 
would  add  to  the  efficiency  of  the  merchant  marine 
and  increase  the  prestige  of  its  officers  if  a  broader 
examination  were  required.  Not  only  should  it  be 
made  to  include  the  highest  seamanship  and  all 
practical  navigation,  but,  according  to  Brassey,  at 
least  one  foreign  language  and  the  elements  of  a 


86  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

commercial  education.  If  a  moderate  annual  stip- 
end were  given  to  those  who  passed  an  examination 
in  gunnery,  the  officers  would  be  encouraged  to  pre- 
pare themselves  in  peace  for  the  duties  war  might 
require.  With  us  especially  would  all  these  tests  be 
necessary.  Our  navy,  at  the  best,  is  a  skeleton,  upon 
which  with  material  drawn  from  the  merchant  ma- 
rine we  must  build  a  vivified  personality  that  would 
aid  us  in  asserting  every  right  external  violence  or 
greed  might  assail.  The  higher  examinations  would 
tend  to  secure  more  uniform  excellence,  for  even 
now,  under  existing  rules,  the  captains  of  the  largest 
ships  are  unequal  in  character  and  skill.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  this  proposed  extension  of  the  scope 
of  requirements  should  be  in  the  line  of  abstruse 
mathematics  ;  but  naval  architecture,  modern  lan- 
guages and  commercial  knowledge,  whether  relating 
to  law,  foreign  exchange,  or  general  trade,  would 
scarcely  be  less  useful  than  the  mathematical  theory 
of  navigation. 

Here  then  in  England  is  a  system  founded  upon 
principles  of  equity,  justice,  and  usefulness,  suited  to 
our  necessities  and  not  antagonistic  to  our  na- 
tional genius  and  instinct  ;  a  plan  so  practical 
that  no  individual  effort  is  hampered,  and  yet  so 
theoretical  that  the  mere  man  of  straw,  whose  fit- 
ness rests  only  upon  what  his  experience  of  facts 
may  reach,  and  not  upon  what  his  grasp  of  prin- 
ciples may  assert,  is  sure  to  find  a  level  where  his 
possibilities  for  harm  are  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
We  can  adopt  it  with  safety,  for  it  grew  out  of  those 
same  necessities  of  the  modern  spirit  which  affect 
our  civilization  ;  it  is  based  upon  intelligence  and 


FOREIGN  SYSTEMS  OF  ADMINISTRATION.      87 

education  ;  its  success  justifies  its  existence,  and  its 
progress  gives  surety  of  its  permanence.  Fortified 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  good  it  has  effected  in  Eng- 
land we  can  urge  its  adoption  here,  and  as  we  must 
begin  at  a  beginning  that  is  not  as  yet,  and  fight  our 
way  up  to  the  point  already  attained  by  nations 
lacking  those  maritime  activities  so  essential  to  com- 
mercial supremacy  that  we  possess,  it  is  our  duty 
and  should  be  our  pride  to  anticipate  in  the  present 
the  demands  of  a  future  which  can  be  made  glorious 
for  the  merchant  service. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   TRAINING   OF   BRITISH   SEAMEN. 

BUT  even  with  a  logical  and  consistent  system  of  ad- 
ministration, and  with  effective  ships,  there  can  be 
no  permanent  nor  profitable  maritime  success  unless 
there  are  good  sailors  and  officers,  and  a  sufficient 
reserve  from  which  losses  may  be  wholly  or  in  part 
supplied.  Good  crews  can  be  obtained  only  by  giv- 
ing more  attention  to  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral 
condition  of  sailors.  As  a  creature  of  romance  the 
hardy  tar  is  a  noble  being  ;  as  the  actual  victim  of 
persecution  and  neglect,  he  is  a  deplorable  evidence 
of  man's  inhumanity.  To  be  even  a  fairly  good 
sailor  requires  double  the  ability  demanded  by  any 
other  of  the  common  pursuits  of  life,  for  as  Raleigh 
said,  years  ago,  it  is  the  one  which  exacts  all  manner 
of  carnal  cunning.  It  seems  reasonable  to  believe 
that  when  the  mysteries  of  the  business  were  once 
solved,  it  would  be  pursued  with  zest  and  profit ; 
and  yet  in  every  year  over  one-third  of  the  losses  of 
skilled  mariners  is  due  to  the  voluntary  surrender  of 
a  trade  which  pays  better  than  any  other  followed 
by  the  laboring  classes,  which  is  always  certain  of 
affording  employment,  but  which  has  been  gained 
and  is  maintained  only  through  such  infinite  misery 
and  sacrifice,  that  it  becomes  unbearable.  And  there 
is  no  reason  in  this,  for  while  it  could  be  brought  to 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH  SEAMEN.  89 

the  same  plane  of  comfort  and  respectability  as  any 
other,  it  suffers  from  a  neglect  almost  universal.  This 
is  due  partly  to  misapprehension,  partly  to  careless- 
ness ;  for,  fairly  stated,  the  attitude  of  the  public 
mind  toward  it  is  the  result  more  of  the  observation 
of  Jack  ashore,  and  of  the  ignorance  of  Jack  afloat, 
than  of  any  belief  that  the  trade  is  of  its  nature  a 
brutalizing  one.  In  a  dim  way  there  is  an  apprecia- 
tion of  its  heroism  and  of  its  importance  in  the  modern 
scheme,  and  vaguely  it  is  understood  that  no  life 
calls  for  more  manly  traits  or  for  greater  self-denial. 
But,  except  upon  rare  occasions,  land  and  sea  exis- 
tences are  nowhere  tangent ;  and  being  thus  re- 
moved from  the  sphere  of  active  sympathies  of  those 
in  whom  lie  possibilities  for  his  amelioration,  what 
may  be  expected  of  the  man  before  the  mast  ? 

Usually  a  wanderer  from  childhood,  his  home  ties 
are  severed  and  his  home  influences  weakened  ;  his 
life  is  spent  either  on  shipboard,  in  a  dull  round  of 
mechanical  duties  accentuated  by  moments  of  terri- 
ble peril,  or  on  shore,  awaiting  a  chance  to  ship 
again  ;  the  labors  of  the  one  period  are  swallowed 
by  the  idleness  of  the  other,  just  as  his  system  pul- 
sates between  the  severe  asceticism  of  the  sea  and 
the  nameless  debaucheries  of  the  shore  ;  nowhere 
is  there  a  point  of  rest  for  the  swing  of  his  life- 
pendulum,  and  he  has  before  him  the  pauper  work- 
house or  the  sea  that  is  always  waiting. 

Ashore  he  lives  in  a  sailor's  boarding-house,  where 
he  is  robbed  and  inveigled  into  all  kinds  of  debauch- 
ery while  his  money  lasts  or  his  prospects  of  getting 
a  ship  will  justify  the  boarding-master  in  holding 
him  upon  the  credit  of  the  advance  money.  The 


90  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

butcher,  the  baker,  and  the  candlestick-maker  may 
be  idle  awaiting  business  or  enjoying  relaxation  just 
BO  long  as  their  money  permits,  but  that  being  ex- 
hausted, they  must  work  or  starve.  Not  so  with  the 
sailor  ;  for  his  credit  is  so  good  and  his  absolute  value, 
based  upon  supply  and  demand,  is  so  great  that  he 
may  be  kept  as  sheep  are  kept,  penned  in  a  market 
of  horrors,  awaiting  the  highest  bidder,  who  always 
comes.  Finally  he  is  shipped,  and  joins  his  vessel 
usually  half  starved,  half  clothed,  entirely  impecun- 
ious and  wholly  drunk.  And  when  he  is  recalled  to 
a  practical  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  life  by  a 
backhander  from  the  mate  who  is  stowing  the  an- 
chors, he  finds  himself  outside  Sandy  Hook,  bound 
for  a  deep-water  voyage  and  with  two  months'  earn- 
ings, yet  to  be  gained,  all  gone  in  advance.  Here  is 
what  several  ^experienced  ship  masters  testified  to 
before  the  Congressional  Committee,  though  these 
are  matters  of  such  every-day  occurrence  as  to  excite 
no  more  interest,  even  in  shipping  circles,  than  the 
sudden  foundering  of  an  ocean-tramp  would  arouse 
among  the  dervishes  howling  outside  the  mosques 
of  Cairo. 

Captain  B.  S.  Osgood,  who  had  twenty-five  years' 
experience  at  sea,  said  "it  was  a  fact  that  ninety 
per  cent,  of  the  engaged  sailors  went  on  board 
drunk.  What  was  needed  was  a  law  to  blot  out  the 
legalized  boarding-house  master.  The  so-called 
philanthropy  that  went  about  the  country  collect- 
ing money,  and  that  turned  out  nothing  but  books 
and  tracts,  was  not  the  kind  of  philanthropy  re- 
quired for  the  sailor.  No  sailor,  no  matter  how  good 
he  might  be  and  how  much  money  he  had,  could 


THE   TRAINING  OF   BRITISH   SEAMEN.  91 

come  there  (into  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel).  He  and 
his  baggage  would  not  be  received.  He  had  to  go  to 
the  boarding-house,  where  he  was  robbed,  and  New 
York  State  legalized  it.  His  son  that  day  was  in  an 
English  ship,  because  he  could  not  with  decency 
sail  in  an  American  vessel.  '  Blood  money '  was 
the  cause  of  it.  '  Blood  money '  meant  paying  for 
an  opportunity  to  go  into  a  ship.  It  was  divided 
between  the  boarding-house  keeper,  the  master  of 
the  ship,  and  in  many  instances  with  the  owner  of 
the  vessel.  The  charge  was  $5  per  capita  in  this 
port.  There  was  a  time  (but  many  years  ago)  when 
he,  with  others,  marched  down  to  the  port  and  they 
were  selected  by  the  captain  of  the  ship  for  their 
certificates  of  good  character  and  for  their  physique. 
Now  they  had  to  go  through  a  system  of  red  tape. 
They  went,  say,  to  the  top  of  Cherry  Street,  and 
were  picked  out  as  it  suited  the  boarding-house 
keeper,  and  not  as  it  suited  the  captain  4  and  even 
when  the  sailor  was  supposed  to  be  guarded  by  all 
the  safeguards  of  the  law  he  was  robbed.  Witness' 
son  had  had  his  name  erased  from  a  list  because  he 
would  not  pay  the  blood  money,  while  dozens  of 
men  were  shipped  before  him.  That,  he  thought, 
was  a  case  for  the  District  Attorney." 

"  In  most  cases,"  continued  another  witness,  "  ship- 
owners received  much  of  the  blood  money  that  had 
been  so  much  talked  of.  That  fact  he  was  positive 
of."  He  gave  an  interesting  description  of  the 
sailors  themselves,  instigated  by  landlords,  appear- 
ing in  crowds  in  his  office,  wearing  some  distinc- 
tive mark  by  which  the  captain  of  the  vessel  would 
know  they  were  of  the  blood-money  paying  circle. 


92  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

The  captain  picked  these  men  out  in  preference  to 
others  who  were  not  in  the  ring,  and  the  Commis- 
sioner's efforts  to  "  shut  down  "  on  the  blood-money 
system  were  by  this  ingenious  method  frustrated. 
Still  another  gave  several  examples  of  what  sailors 
call  "  shanghaing  " — that  is,  kidnapping  —  stating 
that  men  of  all  professions  were  forced  on  board  as 
sailors,  so  that  the  boarding-house  master  might  get 
the  "advanced  wages."  He  had  known  a  Catholic 
priest  to  have  been  "shanghaied."  The  notes  by 
which  the  money  was  obtained  were  forged.  As  far 
back  as  May,  1857,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  took 
up  the  question  of  advance  wages  and  decided  to 
move  for  its  abolition,  but  in  one  week  they  were 
compelled  to  "  back  down  by  the  landlords,  who  had 
the  sailors  completely  under  their  control." 

This  is  the  sailor's  life  on  shore,  and  it  is  better  on 
shipboard  only  because  it  is  sober  .and  of  some  value 
in  a  world  which  expects  work  from  everybody ; 
though  this  last  consideration  loses  much  of  its  un- 
questionably logical  force,  when  weighed  from  a 
head-boom  by  the  seaman  who  is  stowing  the  jib  on 
a  dark  night,  in  freezing  weather,  off  the  Cape.  As  a 
rule  the  sailor  lives  in  a  murky  den  which  figures  in 
innumerable  sea  ditties  as  "the  folk'sle,  blessed  scene 
of  jollity";  and  he  eats  rations  which  are  beautiful  to 
look  at  when  stated  in  nicely  ruled  schedules  and 
provided  for  in  mandatory  scales,  and  yet  are  nothing 
less  than  abominations  when  actually  served  out  from 
the  greasy  galley.  Attaining  with  such  a  life  the 
grand  results  which  the  commerce  of  the  world, 
and  our  expanding  civilizations  prove,  what  could 
not  be  hoped  for  under  a  more  favorable  environ- 


THE  TRAINING   OF  BRITISH  SEAMEN.  93 

ment  ?  What  would  he  be,  even  if  the  least  of  the 
things  vouchsafed  by  the  old  Hippocratic  formula 
to  the  worst  of  men, — pure  air,  good  water,  and 
sunshine — were  not  denied  him  to  some  degree  ? 
Nothing  could  be  worse  for  a  blue-jacket,  or  for  his 
less  ornamental  but  equally  useful  brother  of  the 
merchant  service,  than  coddling  ;  but  there  is  some- 
where that  golden  mean  which  would  make  out  of 
shambling,  dissatisfied,  but  splendid  animals,  re- 
spected and  self-respecting  members  of  society.  Im- 
prove ships  and  crew  accommodations  especially  ;  in- 
sist upon  educated  and  humane  officers ;  punish  a 
sea-bully  as  you  would  a  wife-beater,  with  hard 
labor  and  innumerable  dozens  of  the  cat — for  he  is 
the  greatest  coward  on  the  earth  and  sea  ;  teach  Jack 
in  the  forecastle  that  there  is  something  higher  and 
holier  for  him  than  passing  weather-earrings  and 
riding  down  foretacks  all  his  days  ;  in  one  word,  give 
him  the  half-chance  which  has  usually  been  denied 
him  from  the  day  of  his  birth,  and  then  judge  what 
his  possibilities  may  be.  It  can  be  done,  it  is  being 
done  now  in  some  degree.  What  a  common  human- 
ity has  failed  to  enforce,  the  jingling  shillings,  the 
nimble  sixpences  have  brought  about  ;  and  of  all 
nations  England,  as  that  one  most  nearly  affected,  is 
foremost  in  the  new  departure. 

These  simpler  things  are  ordered  differently  there, 
though  of  course  the  absolute  state  of  affairs  is  good 
only  by  contrast  with  the  evil  of  the  management 
here.  A  few  of  the  provisions  of  the  General  Act 
and  its  amendments  are  as  follows  :  No  fees  are  ex- 
acted for  the  engagement  and  discharge  of  seamen  ; 
no  seaman  has  the  power  to  assign  or  dispose  of 


94  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

his  wages,  but  must  receive  them  himself ;  no  debt 
exceeding  five  shillings,  incurred  by  any  seaman 
after  engaging  to  serve,  is  recoverable  until  the  ser- 
vice is  concluded  ;  good  boarding-houses  under  wise 
control  are  offered  him  to  choose  from  ;  lodging- 
house  keepers  charging  a  seaman  for  a  longer  time 
than  he  owes,  are  liable  to  a  penalty  of  $50.00  for 
each  offence  ;  and  in  brief,  by  the  enactment  of  an 
admirable  law,  the  rights  of  sailors  are  jealously 
guarded,  and  so  far  as  human  wisdom  can  effect, 
every  precaution  is  taken  for  their  welfare  afloat 
and  ashore  ;  for  their  present  life,  and  for  those  evil 
days  to  come  when  they  are  sure  to  become  a  bur- 
den either  upon  their  past  savings,  or  lacking  them, 
upon  the  charities  which  are  so  sparingly  doled  out 
to  men  of  the  sea.  Like  this  country,  England  dis- 
covered that  her  supply  of  native  seamen  was  dimin- 
ishing ;  unlike  us,  she  is  trying  to  remedy  the  dis- 
ease, for  it  is  a  malady  of  most  malignant  type.  In 
1851  the  number  of  foreigners  in  British  ships  was 
5,793  out  of  a  total  of  141,937,  or  about  4.2  per  cent. ; 
in  1876  this  had  grown  to  20,911  out  of  a  total  of 
198,638,  or  11.76  per  cent.;  and  to-day  nearly  13  per 
cent,  of  the  crews  in  British  vessels  consist  of  aliens. 
In  1876,  of  the  total  mentioned  above  125,811  were 
employed  in  sailing  vessels  and  78,827  in  steamers; 
10  per  cent,  of  the  former  and  50  per  cent,  of  the 
latter  belonging  to  the  class  of  stewards,  firemen, 
etc.,  seafaring  persons  who  are  not  sailors,  thus 
leaving  of  the  seamen  class  about  150,000  for  the 
supply  of  the  various  vessels.  In  the  grand  total 
for  the  year  there  was  a  loss  of  about  16,000  persons, 
not  quite  one-third  of  these  being  due  to  deaths  and 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH   SEAMEN.  95 

the  remainder  to  desertions  and  to  relinquishments 
of  the  trade.  The  vessels  afloat  under  the  British 
flag  require  over  20,000  officers,  3,000  of  these  being 
for  vessels  of  above  800  tons  register,  that  is  for  a 
class  of  ships  needing  men  of  more  than  average 
skill  and  intelligence.  The  annual  loss  is  nearly 
1,000,  50  per  cent,  of  which  is  credited  to  deaths — a 
striking  exemplification  of  the  rigorous  nature  of 
the  business.  Out  of  a  whole  number  of  deaths  for 
the  year  (officers  and  men)  of  4,151,  2,270  were 
caused  by  drowning,  1,237  of  these  being  in  ship- 
wrecks. 

To  replace  these  losses  of  crews  and  officers 
several  sources  of  supply  are  open  ;  for  the  re- 
newal of  losses  among  the  men  there  are  appren- 
tices, volunteers,  and  boys  from  the  training  ships. 
To  meet  the  demands  for  the  officers  there  are  four 
classes  eligible  :  seamen  or  machinists  competent 
for  promotion  ;  cadets  qualified  by  training  afloat 
in  sea-going  ships  or  from  the  two  merchant-train- 
ing ships  ;  volunteers  from  English  or  alien  navies, 
and  volunteers  from  other  merchant  services. 

In  the  case  of  the  men,  apprentices  are  divided 
into  two  classes  :  those  taken  by  the  owner  or  mas- 
ter free  or  upon  payment  of  a  bounty,  and  those 
supplied  by  the  Guardians  or  Overseers  of  the  Poor, 
any  of  whom,  in  every  Union,  "  may  put  out  and 
bind  as  an  apprentice  any  boy  who,  or  whose  parent 
or  parents  is  or  are  receiving  relief  in  such  Union, 
and  who  has  attained  the  age  of  twelve  years  and 
is  of  sufficient  health  and  strength,  and  who  consents 
to  be  so  bound."  These  facts  must  be  attested  to  in 
the  presence  of  the  boy  before  two  justices  of  the 


96  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

peace  ;  the  expenses  of  his  outfit  is  charged  to  the 
Union  to  which  he  belongs,  and  he  is  assigned  a 
number  and  a  certificate  by  the  Registrar  General 
of  Seamen.  Volunteers  are  such  persons  as  the 
master  and  owner  may  consent  to  receive  on  board 
as  part  of  the  crew  ;  the  regulations  governing  their 
shipment  have  been  mentioned  before,  and  as  a  rule 
the  class  is  so,  efficient  that,  in  the  relative  manning 
of  British  and  American  steamers  carrying  mails, 
freights  and  passengers,  there  is,  under  the  English 
flag,  one  man  to  every  70^  tons,  and  under  ours  one 
to  every  40^  tons.  In  steamers  carrying  freight 
only,  the  British  have  one  man  to  every  51  tons,  and 
we  have  one  to  every  40^,  showing  that  there  is  not 
undermanning  but  a  superior  quality  of  seaman- 
ship. 

It  is  generally  accepted  as  a  sea  maxim  that  the 
best  way  to  make  a  sailor  is  to  begin  early  ;  in  the 
British  naval  service  the  age  at  which  an  applicant 
may  enter  is  between  fifteen  and  sixteen  and  a  half 
years,  a  boy  exceeding  this  last  limit  being  regarded 
as  too  mature  to  adopt  readily  a  life  which  makes 
such  a  radical  change  on  all  demands,  mental  and 
physical,  previously  known.  This  seems  wrong,  for 
no  boy  under  seventeen  should  be  taken  purely  be- 
cause of  the  physical  harm  that  is  done  ;  it  ought  to 
be  added  that  in  this  the  weight  of  opinion  is  against 
the  writer,  and  he  must  be  contented  in  sharing 
his  belief  with  physicians  generally  and  with  a  few 
officers  abroad  who  have  no  control  of  naval  training. 
To  give  this  education  and  discipline  there  are  in 
Great  Britain  nineteen  ships,  none  under  naval  ad- 
ministration, and  all  employed  for  the  supply  of  sea- 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH  SEAMEN.  Q/ 

men  to  the  British  Mercantile  Marine,  and  under 
certain  conditions  to  the  Naval  service  ;  these  are 
stationed  at  various  suitable  points  on  the  coast,  gen- 
erally where  the  opportunities  for  most  easily  drain- 
ing a  district  of  its  available  recruits  are  best,  or  where 
the  overplus  of  a  pauper  or  homeless  class  coming 
within  the  intention  of  particular  schools,  makes  their 
presence  most  necessary.  A  broad  generalization 
includes  these  vessels  in  three  classes,  though  they 
overlap  in  certain  directions :  first,  reformatory 
schools  ;  secondly,  industrial  schools  ;  and  thirdly, 
schools  for  the  laboring  classes.  The  total  pupil 
capacity  is  about  4,500  and  the  average  number  al- 
ways on  board  under  instruction  is  not  far  from 
4,000.  Three  ships  are  purely  reformatory  schools — 
the  Akbar  and  the  Clarence,  stationed  near  Liver- 
pool, and  the  Cornwall,  in  the  Thames.  Eleven  are 
industrial  schools — the  Cumberland,  off  Garelock, 
Scotland  ;  the  Formidable,  off  Bristol ;  the  Gibraltar, 
off  Belfast ;  the  Havannah,  off  Cardiff  ;  the  Mars,  on 
the  Tay  ;  the  Southampton,  off  Hull ;  the  Weliesley, 
in  the  Thames,  and  the  Clio  and  the  Mount  Edge- 
combe.  In  addition  to  these  there  is  the  Endeavor, 
which  is  defined  in  Brassey's  book  to  be  "  a  land 
training  brig,  at  Feltman."  The  Arethusa,  the  Chi- 
chester,  the  Exmouth,  and  the  Warspite  are  for  the 
laboring  classes  generally,  and  one,  the  Indefati- 
gable, off  Liverpool,  is  specially  intended  "  for  the 
sons  and  orphans  of  sailors,  and  for  other  poor  and 
destitute  boys."  Here  is  a  school  system  which 
is  unequalled  in  the  world — and  here  a  splendid 
charity.  The  instruction  and  discipline  vary  in 
the  different  classes,  but  briefly  recited,  it  may 
7 


98  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

be  said  that  the  tuition  is  restricted  to  the  elemen- 
tary branches  ;  that  the  discipline  is  rigorous  but 
kindly ;  and  that  the  food  is  plain  but  wholesome  ; 
one-half  of  each  day  is  given  to  text-books  and  reci- 
tations, the  other  half  to  nautical  drills  and  exer- 
cises, and  there  are  the  usual  holidays  and  vaca- 
tions. 

First  in  point  of  age  is  the  Warspite.  The  society 
for  the  administration  of  this  school  was  founded  in 
1772  by  Jonas  Hannaway,  and  in  one  hundred  and 
ten  years  of  its  existence  nearly  60,000  boys  were 
sent  by  it  into  the  naval  and  mercantile  services. 
Boys  admitted  to  this  ship  must  be  between  thirteen 
and  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  belong  to  some  one  of 
the  following  classes :  ist.  Those  who  are  destitute 
and  without  friends.  2d.  Those  who  are  in  abject  dis- 
tress and  are  recommended  by  officers  of  the  society. 
3d.  Those  who  have  been  apprentices  charged  with 
petty  offences,  and  who  are  found  unfit  for  shore 
apprenticeships  ;  and,  4th.  Those  who  are  desirous 
of  going  to  sea  and  whose  parents  are  unable  to 
support  them.  The  school  is  maintained  by  volun" 
tary  offerings,  the  list  of  subscribers  reaching  nearly 
five  hundred,  and  at  times  the  amount  donated  ex- 
ceeds sixty  thousand  dollars.  The  boys  are  not  kept 
for  any  definite  term,  but  usually  the  period  is  two 
years.  In  1880  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  boys 
were  sent  afloat,  principally  into  the  naval  service. 
The  Arethusa  and  Chichester  receive  the  waifs  of 
the  London  streets,  the  boys  being  of  extreme  youth 
and  cared  for  as  in  a  Reformatory.  The  ships  are 
supported  by  one  branch  of  that  great  benevolent 
society  of  which  Lord  Shaftesbury  is  the  head,  and 


THE  TRAINING  OF   BRITISH   SEAMEN.  99 

which  has  the  charge  of  many  hundreds  of  children 
of  both  sexes. 

The  Formidable,  off  Bristol,  may  be  taken  as  an 
example  of  the  ships  under  the  Industrial  Schools 
Act,  to  which  large  grants  are  made  by  the  gen- 
eral government  and  special  annual  allowances  are 
given  by  the  various  townships  sending  boys  to  the 
ships. 

The  regulations  for  admission  to  this  class  are 
usually  as  follows  : 

Boys  between  the  ages  of  eleven  and  fourteen  will  be  received  on 
board  the  Formidable,  if  sent  by  magistrates  with  a  medical  cer- 
tificate of  fitness  for  a  sailor's  life,  and  approved  by  the  committee 
under  the  following  sections  Of  the  Industrial  Schools  Act : 

CLAUSE  14. — Any  person  may  bring  before  two  justices  or  a  mag- 
istrate any  child,  apparently  under  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  that 
comes  within  any  of  the  following  descriptions,  namely  : 

That  is  found  begging  or  receiving  alms  (whether  actually  or 
under  the  pretext  of  selling  or  offering  for  sale  any  thing),  or  being 
in  any  street  or  public  place,  for  the  purpose  of  so  begging  or  receiv- 
ing alms. 

That  is  found  wandering  and  not  having  any  home  or  settled 
place  of  abode,  or  proper  guardianship,  or  visible  means  of  sub- 
sistence. 

That  is  found  destitute,  either  being  an  orphan  or  having  a  sur- 
viving parent  who  is  undergoing  penal  servitude  or  imprisonment. 

That  frequents  the  company  of  reputed  thieves. 

The  justices  or  magistrates  before  whom  a  child  is  brought  as 
coming  within  one  of  those  descriptions,  if  satisfied  on  inquiry  of 
that  fact,  and  that  it  is  expedient  to  deal  with  him  under  this  act, 
may  order  him  to  be  sent  to  a  certified  industrial  school. 

CLAUSE  15. — Where  a  child,  apparently  under  the  age  of  twelve 
years,  is  charged  before  two  justices  or  a  magistrate  with  an  offence 
punishable  by  imprisonment  or  a  less  punishment,  but  has  not  been 
in  England  convicted  of  felony,  or  in  Scotland  of  theft,  and  the 
child  ought,  in  the  opinion  of  the  justices  or  magistrate  (regard  be- 


100  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

ing  had  to  his  age  and  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case),  to  be 
dealt  with  under  this  act,  the  justices  or  magistrate  may  order  him 
to  be  sent  to  a  certified  industrial  school. 

Boys  who  do  not  come  under  one  of  these  clauses, 
and  who  therefore  cannot  be  sent  by  a  magistrate's 
order,  will  be  received  into  the  school,  if  those  who 
are  interested  in  them  are  willing  to  contribute  £18 
per  annum  for  each  boy  ;  and  provided  also  that  the 
boy  is  physically  fitted  for  a  sailor's  life,  and  is  wil- 
ling to  be  bound  to  remain  at  the  school  a  certain 
period  and  go  to  sea  when  a  ship  is  selected  for  him. 
His  age  must  be  between  eleven  and  fourteen,  and 
he  must  also  be  approved  by  the  committee  and  its 
medical  officer. 

The  Exmouth  is  a  school  for  boys  of  the  poorest 
class,  who  are  sent  to  it  by  the  Boards  of  the  Unions 
(almshouses)  of  the  metropolitan  districts  of  Lon- 
don ;  they  are  received  at  any  time  between  the 
ages  of  nine  and  fifteen  and  a  half,  and  are  ob- 
liged to  leave  when  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen or  sixteen  and  a  half ;  the  largest  number 
received  on  board  are  between  twelve  and  thirteen 
years  of  age.  They  are  instructed  in  the  elementary 
English  branches,  seamanship,  swimming,  small-arm, 
cutlass,  great-gun  drill,  and  singing.  All  boys  are 
taught  to  cut,  make,  and  mend  their  own  clothing. 
A  band  with  a  complement  of  fifty-eight  is  kept  up, 
and  certain  boys  are  given  instruction  in  carpenter- 
ing and  in  cooking  ;  the  latter,  a  most  excellent  idea, 
receiving  especial  attention. 

Attached  to  the  ship  is  a  small  brigantine,  which 
is  used  for  practical  training  underway.  She  cruises 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  between  April  and  Oc- 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH  SEAMEN.         IOI 

tober  ;  the  complement  of  boys  on  board  is  thirty, 
ten  being  changed  every  week,  so  that  they  are 
always  twenty  oldsters  to  ten  new  hands.  The  more 
important  instructions  on  board  this  tender  are : 
keeping  careful  watch  by  night  when  at  anchor  ; 
mooring  and  unmooring  ;  loosing  and  making  sail, 
and  reefing  and  furling  under  all  conditions  ;  steer- 
ing ;  a  thorough  knowledge  of  conning  terms  ;  heav- 
ing-to  and  picking  up  boats  ;  heaving  the  log  and 
lead  ;  handling  anchors  ;  and  practical  teaching  of 
the  rule  of  the  road  in  a  crowded  river. 

From  1876  to  1879,  876  boys  were  admitted;  202 
sent  to  sea  ;  29  transferred  to  the  army  as  musicians  ; 
90  discharged  by  order  of  the  Boards  of  the  Unions 
from  which  they  came  ;  3  given  other  situations ;  5 
absconded,  and  2  died.  These  boys  would  in  most 
cases  have  formed  a  part  of  the  great  pauper  class  of 
England  ;  but  instead,  owing  to  well-directed  charity 
and  through  the  expenditure  of  very  little  money, 
they  are  lifted  to  a  plane  the  possibilities  of  which 
by  comparison  are  limitless. 

The  Indefatigable,  which  is  moored  in  the  Mersey, 
off  Liverpool,  has  for  its  object  the  training  of  the 
Orphans  and  sons  of  seafaring  men  connected  with 
the  port  of  Liverpool,  and  of  boys  whose  parents 
may  be  unable  to  support  them.  Preference  is  given 
always  to  the  former  class.  The  ship  depends  entire- 
ly upon  contributions  and  subscriptions  for  its  sup- 
port, and  a  considerable  amount  of  money  is  paid 
into  its  treasury  by  American  passengers  on  board 
of  English  steamers  between  New  York  and  Liver- 
pool, who  thus  contribute,  in  most  cases  without 
knowing,  to  a  most  praiseworthy  charity. 


102  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

The  committee  of  management  comprises  some  of 
the  most  prominent  names  of  Liverpool,  most  of  the 
great  ship-owners  being  represented.  The  mayor  of 
Liverpool  is  president  ex  officio. 

GENERAL   RULES. 

Boys  of  all  religious  denominations  are  eligible  for  admission. 

No  boy  is  received  on  board  under  twelve  or  over  fifteen  years  of 
age,  nor  is  any  one  retained  who  does  not  show  an  aptitude  for  a  sea- 
life. 

The  period  during  which  a  boy  may  remain  on  board  is  intended 
to  be  not  less  than  three  years.  This  period  is  not  extended  except 
by  special  sanction  of  the  committee  in  individual  cases. 

Life-governors  or  others  willing  to  contribute  not  less  than  j£ioo 
to  the  funds  of  the  institution,  or  an  annual  subscription  of  .£10, 
have  a  right  to  nominate  a  boy  for  each  such  donation. 

The  general  committee,  under  whose  management  the  ship  is, 
must  consist  of  not  more  than  forty  members.  An  executive  com- 
mittee, of  not  more  than  ten  members,  is  elected  by  the  general 
committee.  The  executive  committee  is  obliged  to  meet  twice  in 
each  month,  three  members  forming  a  quorum.- 

In  a  report  on  the  Training  of  Seamen  of  Eng- 
land, from  which  many  of  these  facts  are  taken, 
Lieutenant-Commander  Chadwick,  U.  S.  Navy,  says : 
"  Not  to  be  passed  over  as  training-schools  for  boys 
destined  for  the  sea,  are  the  industrial  schools  such 
as  that  as  Feltham,  which  has  taken  the  foremost 
rank  as  a  school  of  the  kind.  It  is  a  reformatory 
establishment  for  convicted  boys,  and  is  conducted  on 
the  half-time  system.  It  is  an  admirably  managed 
institution,  and  Captain  Brooks,  a  retired  officer  of 
marines,  has  received  high  praise  for  the  success  of 
the  place.  What  makes  the  mention  of  it  proper 
here  is  that  there  is  in  the  grounds  a  brig,  built  from 
the  berth-deck  upward,  upon  which  the  boys,  who 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH   SEAMEN.         103 

have  selected  a  seafaring  life,  are  exercised.  Fifty- 
six  boys  were  sent  to  sea  from  this  place  last  year, 
six  of  whom  entered  the  navy  as  bandsmen,  much 
attention  being  also  given  to  music. 

"This  method  of  having  a  means  of  nautical  train- 
ing attached  to  institutions  of  this  kind  is  very  well 
thought  of.  Many  boys  thus  receive  sufficient  train- 
ing to  fit  them  to  early  become  good  sailors,  #nd  a 
taste  for  the  sea  is  fostered  in  a  class  for  which 
there  is  too  little  employment  of  a  fixed  kind." 

To  meet  the  demands  for  officers  there  are  two 
ships,  the  Conway,  anchored  off  Liverpool,  and  the 
Worcester,  anchored  off  London.  These  school- 
ships  are  employed  mainly  to  train  and  educate 
boys  for  officers  of  the  Merchant  Marine,  but  pupils 
intended  for  the  Royal  Navy  are  also  admitted 
and  receive  a  special  training.  On  each  ship  an 
efficient  nautical  and  civil  staff  is  maintained,  and 
the  course,  which  requires  two  years,  includes  mathe- 
matics as  far  as  spherical  trigonometry,  the  theory 
and  practice  of  navigation,  magnetism,  meteorol-. 
ogy,  and  such  seamanship  as  can  be  acquired  on 
board  ship  at  an  anchorage  ;  this  last,  it  is  true,  may 
not  be  much,  but  it  is  of  such  sufficient  value  as  to 
warrant  the  Board  of  Trade  in  reckoning  the  full 
period  as  one  year  spent  actually  afloat  off  soundings. 
Six  appointments  as  midshipmen  in  the  Royal  Naval 
Reserve  are  annually  granted  to  the  Conway ;  posi- 
tions as  apprentice  leadsmen  in  the  Bengal  Pilot 
service  are  allotted  the  graduates  ;  and  many  ship- 
owners give  such  a  preference  to  these  cadets  over 
all  other  apprentices  as  to  take  them  into  their  em- 
ploys without  the  customary  fee  of  indenture.  No 


104  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

boy  is  received  under  the  age  of  twelve  and  none 
over  sixteen  ;  the  terms  of  admission  are  fifty  guineas 
per  annum,  and  for  this  board,  tuition,  medical  at- 
tendance, uniform  and  outside  clothing  are  supplied. 
The  boys  belong  to  an  exceptionally  good  class,  and 
it  argues  well  for  the  merchant  marine  that  the  sons 
of  many  distinguished  and  influential  men  should  be 
acquiring  the  elements  of  an  honorable  profession 
under  circumstances  which,  before  many  years,  will 
result  in  the  best  English  vessels  being  commanded 
by  officers  in  no  wise  inferior  to  their  brother  sailors 
of  the  government  marine.  The  capacity  of  both 
ships  is  about  300,  and  this  number  as  a  rule  is  main- 
tained on  board. 

Undey  these  general  methods  of  supply  the  losses 
of  the  British  merchant  marine  are  made  good  ;  the 
training  ships,  of  course,  yield  the  smallest  percent- 
age, but  they  give  a  nucleus  which  will  absorb  grad- 
ually the  more  important  duties  of  the  service.  The 
annual  returns  for  one  year  are  compiled  here,  in 
order  to  show  the  number  of  boys  sent  into  the  mer- 
chant service  by  each  class  of  ships,  the  average 
cost  of  maintenance,  and  the  sources  whence  the 
revenues  for  the  support  of  the  system  are  derived. 

"  The  great  defect  of  the  mercantile  training  sys- 
tem now  in  use  in  England  is  that  too  many  of  the 
vessels  are  mere  reformatories,  which  send  into  the 
service  boys  with  bad  antecedents.  Too  great  a 
supply  of  such  boys  tends  to  cast  a  stain  upon  the 
profession,  and  causes  it  to  be  looked  upon  as  a 
refuge  for  the  destitute,  worthless,  and  vagabond 
class.  The  great  aim  ought  to  be  to  elevate  it  as  a 
reputable  calling  ;  to  make  men  think  and  feel  that 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH  SEAMEN. 


105 


JO  3SU3dX9  33B43AV 


1,; 

' 


£  J3 
*?" 


a"-3 


-sapped 

-CO  .UqjO  UJ 


-usadde  sy 


•ipea  jo 


II 


" 


i 

4+ 

•y  o  o»  ;j  o 

!| 

tj  O  '-o  »n  O 

o 

V^KS™  R 

H 

M  rotf  M* 

A 

^i  O  O  e«>O 

& 

** 

•3 

O  *O   IA  0 

8 

o>r^  n  •«• 

i 

S?^.1?  5  * 

o 

H 

n   •«  M   M 

1 

.   O     •          • 

J2 

M      • 

'S. 

3 

***':     I 

Ml               • 

•£* 

Ul    « 

*    •»- 

^  0  M  mo 

«J 

^   O   0\^>  O 

a 

•a 

j 

«'C 

Is*  0  ^  t*) 

C*    O    TO* 

M 

1* 

•i  O 

| 

•»     ^        ° 

•i 

:<o     M 

a 

S 

•03*         «f 

•  ro       x 

•ipw  jo  -OK 

woo  •*  ro 

a 

i 

1 

•3 

IA      • 

(A 

j«  a  ; 

3 

w  «  t* 

w  "  S'Q 

o  •-«  e  rt 

ig  h  «  S 

"38-J 

106  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

it  is  as  respectable  as  any  other  manual  labor  ;  the 
general  thought  of  parents  being  that  for  a  boy  to 
go  to  sea  is  to  go  entirely  to  the  bad.  This  latter 
feeling,  of  course,  is  strengthened  in  the  service  it- 
self, where  too  many  of  a  depraved  class  are  sent 
from  reformatory  institutions  and  houses  of  refuge. 
The  aim  ought  rather  to  be  to  attract  volunteers  to 
the  training  ships,  and  not,  as  in  too  many  cases  in 
England,  require  that  the  boy  should  be  a  pauper 
before  he  can  have  the  advantages  and  facilities  af- 
forded by  these  vessels."  (Chadwick.) 

In  some  measure  this  is  true  ;  but  it  goes  too  far, 
for,  on  the  other  hand,  the  new  influences  are  whole- 
some, and  though  the  best  material  may  not  be  ob- 
tained, yet  certain  classes  are  reached,  the  large  ma- 
jorities of  which  are  saved  from  crime  and  pauperism. 
Many  of  these  boys  have  become  officers,  and  in  the 
great  mass  the  evil  tendencies  of  those  who  are  dis- 
tinctly criminal,  as  opposed  to  the  instincts  of  others 
who  are  merely  poor,  cannot  counteract  the  perma- 
nent good  which  the  force  of  example  and  the  re- 
straint of  discipline  produce.  It  is  certain  that  crime 
is  less  prevalent,  and  that  ships  are  better  manned 
and  handled  than  ever  before. 

But  what  are  we  doing  to  make  good  the  losses 
which,  by  the  same  operations  of  the  economic  law, 
fall  upon  our  merchant  marine.  We  have  one  ship, 
the  St.  Mary's,  stationed  at  the  Port  of  New  York 
and  supported  mainly  by  the  city  government. 
The  results  of  her  services  have  been  good,  but  these 
are  necessarily  of  the  most  limited  character.  In 
eight  years  there  were  896  entries  and  328  graduates ; 
of  these,  228  went  to  sea;  70  non-graduates  also 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BRITISH  SEAMEN.         IO? 

adopted  a  seafaring  life,  and  of  the  whole  number 
perhaps  60  have  become  officers.  Are  we  prepared 
to  let  this  matter  rest  here  ?  Our  legislative 
bodies,  and,  failing  them,  our  merchants,  and  as  a  last 
resource,  our  charitable  people,  must  study  these  fac- 
tors and  attempt  to  solve  the  problems  into  which 
they  enter.  New  and  accepted  theories  make  rig- 
orous demands  upon  us,  and  the  schools  which  gave 
us  the  capable  seamen  of  the  first  half  of  this  cen- 
tury are  inadequate  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of 
these  later  days.  As  a  last  word,  it  must  be  empha- 
sized that  even  if  our  shipping  were  restored,  we 
have  neither  the  men  nor  the  officers  to  man  it ;  and 
this  under  a  civilization  which  insists  upon  a  skilled 
merchant  marine,  governed,  equipped,  and  educated 
in  accordance  with  modern  ideas,  as  the  only  hope 
of  successful  competition  for  the  commerce  of  the 
world. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   NAVY   AND   THE   MERCHANT    MARINE. 

THE  relation  between  the  navy  and  the  merchant 
marine  is  not  always  apparent  to  the  non-profes- 
sional reader,  but  no  law  of  the  economic  question 
is  better  defined  ;  commercial  supremacy  and  naval 
power  have  gone  hand  in  hand  in  all  countries,  and 
though  it  is  conceded  the  former  should  precede, 
yet  we  once  made  the  mistake  of  permitting  com- 
merce to  develop  without  commensurate  additions 
to  our  naval  strength,  and  to  our  great  disadvantage. 
Had  an  adequate  force  been  at  the  disposition  of  the 
government  in  1861,  the  ports  of  the  seceding  States 
would  have  been  seized  before  they  could  have  been 
placed  in  a  defensive  condition  ;  not  a  blockade  run- 
ner could  have  entered  ;  not  a  rover  have  escaped  to 
prey  upon  our  commerce  ;  and  those  fitted  out  else- 
where would  have  been  cut  short  in  their  careers  of 
destruction.  Still  further,  the  decadence  of  our 
commerce,  though  not  the  outgrowth  of  the  civil 
war,  would  have  been  arrested,  and  long  ere  this  we 
might  have  entered  upon  that  policy  of  revival  which 
we  are  bound  to  pursue.  Trade  is  gained  and  influ- 
ence maintained  in  China  and  Japan  by  the  nations 
which  keep  powerful  naval  forces  on  those  coasts. 
The  Pacific  commerce  belongs  naturally  to  us,  but 
despite  our  proximity  the  flag  is  rarely  seen  off  the 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   ICX) 

western  coast,  and  our  intercontinental  trade  barely 
suffices  to  employ  one  line  of  steamers.  We  are  the 
great  middle  kingdom,  and  an  analysis  of  the  laws 
underlying  trade  expansion  proves  incontrovertibly 
that  we  should  rule  the  commerce  of  the  world. 
Our  enormous  productive  surplus  demands  new  mar- 
kets, and  to  foster  and  develop  a  commerce  based 
upon  conditions  of  supply,  demand,  and  direct  and 
easy  means  of  transportation,  we  must  have  an  effi- 
cient and  powerful  war  marine.  Every  ship  should 
become  a  commercial  agent,  and  the  dissemination 
of  information  upon  the  resources  of  the  country, 
the  prices  and  values  of  our  commodities,  the  advan- 
tages inuring  to  foreign  merchants  by  dealing  with 
us — in  short,  a  realization  of  the  work  laid  down 
for  the  Ticonderoga  in  her  last  cruise  ought  to 
form  an  essential  part  of  the  orders  of  cruising  men- 
of-war. 

The  duty  of  all  navies  is  bey6nd  everything  else 
to  guard  the  territory  of  its  country  ;  next  to  protect 
its  natural  commerce  ;  and  then  to  police  and  sur- 
vey the  seas  in  the  general  interests  of  humanity. 
When  the  naval  service  is  not  altogether  neglected, 
it  is  treated  from  a  standpoint  where  absolute  and 
special  knowledge  are  wanting,  and  it  is  a  common 
complaint  that  of  no  other  branch  of  the  government 
service  does  there  exist  so  little  general  information. 
A  generally  accepted,  but  none  the  less  erroneous, 
idea  is  that  its  duties  are  confined  almost  exclusively 
to  offensive  and  defensive  operations  during  hostili- 
ties ;  that  in  peace  it  is  a  luxury,  partly  justified, 
perhaps,  in  the  shadowy  maxim  of  accepted  states- 
manship that  peace  should  prepare  for  war.  With 


IIO  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

us  there  is  a  blind  dependence  upon  what  is  called 
the  creative  possibility  of  the  nation.  Little  serious 
examination  is  given  to  the  subject,  and  with  experts 
only  is  there  a  full  appreciation  of  the  ignorance  of 
and  the  want  of  anything  more  than  a  sentimental  in- 
terest in  the  navy  of  the  country.  To  cruise  between 
pleasant  ports,  to  show  the  flag  in  the  strongholds 
of  nations  that  respectfully  hint  their  acquaintance 
with  our  tremendous  possibilities  of  aggression,  and 
then,  the  novelty  of  the  cruise  being  exhausted,  to 
return  to  navy  yard  and  dry  dock  and,  about  election 
time,  afford  employment  to  swarms  of  unskilled 
henchmen  of  ambitious  politicians — these,  and  only 
these,  make  up  the  popular  belief  of  the  duties  of  a 
modern  man-of-war  in  time  of  peace.  Occasionally 
the  national  conscience  is  stirred  by  the  recital  of 
the  low  plane  to  which  our  service  has  fallen,  and  of 
the  advances  which  are  being  made  abroad  ;  a  pale 
glimmer  of  interest  is  excited,  the  conditions  are 
hazily  discussed,  and  the  responsibility  and  blame 
being  relegated  to  Congress,  where  they  belong,  all 
public  interest  in  the  subject  ends.  At  times  there  are 
a  few  critics  who  demand  the  extinction  of  the  service, 
its  necessity  for  any  reasons  being  denied  ;  this  is 
usually  supplemented  with  the  assertion  that  in  war, 
a  navy  sufficient  and  capable  could  be  created  with 
the  same  readiness,  and  raised  to  the  same  standard 
of  excellence  in  the  same  time,  as  could  a  volunteer 
army.  As  a  concession  to  the  prejudices  of  less  de- 
structive minds,  the  reformers  are  willing  to  employ 
a  few  skilled  officers  who  will  keep  alive  the  embers 
of  naval  knowledge,  much  as  the  laborious  monks 
preserved  those  of  ancient  letters  during  the  Middle 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   1 1 1 

Ages.  Foreign  squadrons  are  branded,  from  the  ex- 
tra-professional standpoint,  as  useless  because  we 
have  no  interests  abroad,  and  this  being  disproved, 
the  home  squadron  is  assailed,  presumably  because 
we  have  no  interests  at  home.  As  much  of  this 
hypercriticism  arises  from  ignorance,  it  is  only  fair 
to  show  what  are  the  duties  demanded  of  a  navy  in 
time  of  peace ;  wherein  these  are  satisfied  by  our 
squadrons  ;  the  connection  between  the  navy  and 
the  merchant  marine  ;  in  what  direction  naval  use- 
fulness may  be  extended,  and  what  claims  the  home 
squadron  has  for  extension  and  development  as  the 
most  important  naval  division. 

Peace  has  its  naval  duties  no  less  than  war,  and 
none  the  less  onerous  nor  honorable  are  the  demands 
it  makes  upon  the  skill,  intelligence,  fearlessness, 
and  readiness  of  resource,  which  are  the  essential 
characteristics  of  the  seaman.  At  home  the  complex 
machinery  of  the  law  and  the  force  of  communal 
interest  protect  the  citizens,  but  upon  the  high  seas 
and  in  foreign  countries  his  life  and  happiness  are 
assailable  save  for  the  protection  vouchsafed  by  the 
navy  of  his  country.  So  much  was  this  principle 
recognized  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  that 
the  navy  was  given  a  permanent,  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  temporary  character  of  the  army,  the 
Constitution  expressly  declaring  that  Congress  shall 
have  power  "to  raise  and  support  armies,"  and  "to 
provide  and  maintain  a  navy."  Armies  have  some- 
times subverted  the  liberties  of  a  country,  navies 
never,  and  in  some  countries,  notably  England,  the 
navy  is,  for  the  reason  of  its  superior  importance,  the 
senior  service.  War  is  never  absent  from  the  calcu- 


112  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

lations  of  the  civilized  nations,  and  barbarism,  re- 
specting nothing  but  force,  repels  alike  interference, 
association,  and  instruction.  In  every  sea-port  of 
Europe  ;  in  Asia,  to  the  head  of  unnamed  rivers  on 
the  confines  of  the  Chinese  Empire  ;  in  Japan  ;  in 
the  islands  and  among  the  groups  of  the  Southern 
seas,  our  citizens  claim  and  need  protection.  Abroad 
they  are  found  occupying  every  field  which  enter- 
prise dares  invade  or  energy  avails  to  conquer  ;  and 
everywhere  they  carry  with  them  those  affirmative 
and  sometimes  aggressive  ideas  of  freedom  and 
progress  which  are  antagonistic  to  the  traditions, 
customs,  and  practices  of  local  governments;  our 
progressive  civilization  is  apparent  in  every  land  our 
countrymen  penetrate,  and  we  can  afford  to  neglect 
neither  our  responsibilities  as  a  representative  na- 
tion, nor  our  obligations  to  the  people  who  claim  our 
countenance  and  the  protection  pf  the  flag.  Thus 
our  navy  vivifies,  asserts,  and  develops  the  idea  of 
republicanism  as  the  vital  factor  in  contemporary 
civilization. 

Navies  are  the  police  of  the  world  ;  they  carry 
the  strong  arm  of  the  law  into  the  remotest  regions  ; 
they  empanel  themselves  as  jurors  to  decide  the  fact 
and  sit  in  judgment  upon  wrong-doers  ;  zealously 
and  with  great  sacrifice  they  guard  the  well-being  of 
citizens  whose  happiness  and  liberty  without  them 
would  be  wholly  insecure;  and  they  project  civiliza- 
tion into  lands  which  are  benighted,  first  by  the  in- 
fluence of  the  moral  idea,  and  then,  if  necessity  arise, 
by  those  energies  that,  after  all,  most  appeal  to  the 
savage  or  semi-barbaric  mind.  The  spirit  of  piracy 
exists  now  as  ever,  and  there  are  no  pirates,  or  piracy 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   1 13 

is  rare,  because  the  seas  are  policed  by  the  war  ves- 
sels of  the  world. 

It  is  not  germane  here  to  consider  the  necessities 
which  may  appeal  to  a  maritime  country  during  con- 
ditions of  belligerency  or  alliance  ;  but  at  all  times 
such  a  nation  is  subject  to  the  demands  which  neu* 
trality  may  make.  These  require  that  no  aid  preju- 
dicial to  the  warlike  status  of  other  countries  shall 
be  given  to  one  of  the  belligerents  beyond,  of  course, 
the  requirements  of  a  common  humanity ;  that  the 
citizens  of  the  neutral  must  not  supply  a  belligerent 
with  articles  recognized  as  contraband  of  war  ;  that 
warlike  operations  within  its  territory  must  be  for- 
bidden, and  that  in  belligerent  countries  the  life 
and  property  of  its  citizens  must  be  guarded  and 
its  commerce  protected  from  unjust  or  burdensome 
interferences.  The  determined  stand  we  took  upon 
the  Alabama  claims  pledges  us  irrevocably  to  the 
acceptance  of  these  terms,  and  yet  without  the  pos- 
session of  an  effective  fleet  contingencies  may  arise 
under  any  of  these  conditions  which  might  imperil 
the  national  honor. 

Under  circumstances  of  perfect  amity  a  nation  is 
bound  to  preserve  the  friendly  relations  which  exist 
and  to  strive  for  a  peaceful  adjustment  of  all  differ- 
ences; citizens  or  foreigners  within  its  territory  must 
be  kept  from  violating  the  laws  which  forbid  active 
aid  being  given  to  foreign  insurrection  or  rebellion  ; 
arbitrary  acts  of  reprisal  must  be  prevented  ;  the  lives 
and  property  of  its  citizens  must  be  guarded  from 
mobs  or  the  dangers  of  insurrections  within  the  ter- 
ritory of  a  friendly  nation  ;  foreigners  must  be  warned 
against  the  performance  of  arbitrary  acts  injurious  to 
8 


114  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

commercial  rights ;  assistance  must  be  given  to  the 
survey  of  the  highways  of  commerce  ;  a  correct 
knowledge  of  the  coasts  of  the  world  must  be  ob- 
tained by  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions,  and 
no  legitimate  means  must  be  spared  to  foster  and 
to  extend  those' commercial  interests  which  are  es- 
sential factors  of  national  happiness  and  prosperity. 
Fortunately  the  theory  of  our  government  is  one 
of  extreme  reserve  as  to  foreign  affairs,  and  it  would 
be  the  commission  only  of  some  overt  act  which 
would  justify  a  display  of  naval  strength  as  a  means 
of  awakening  the  serious  attention  of  an  offending 
nation  to  a  question  in  dispute  ;  still  the  zeal  of  our 
consular  service,  whether  arising  from  misdirected 
devotion  to  the  old  flag  and  an  appropriation,  or  from 
the  claims  of  friendship  or  private  business,  is  apt  at 
times  to  call  for  the  exercise  of  the  wisest  discretion 
in  treating  what  are  popularly  called  outrages.  From 
the  general  policy  of  non-intervention  in  questions 
outside  our  territory  must  be  excepted  the  Monroe 
doctrine  ;  by  its  moral  force  the  Spanish  colonies  of 
Central  and  South  America  were  aided  to  gain  and 
have  since  been  able  to  maintain  their  independence. 
The  reassertion  of  its  principles  at  a  time  when  ad- 
vantage was  taken  of  internal  dissension  to  violate  it, 
and  the  subsequent  display  of  a  trained  army  and  an 
effective  fleet  forced  France  to  leave  Mexico.  And 
to-day  we  can  be  no  more  willing  to  abandon  our 
position  than  when  our  resources  were  most 
weakened.  Foreign  Powers  must  not  interfere  be- 
tween combatants  on  this  continent,  even  under  the 
specious  plea  of  humanity,  and  we  cannot  permit 
any  other  country  to  assume  control  of  a  canal  the 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   1 1  5 

unfriendly  possession  of  which  would  be  a  menace 
in  time  of  war  and  a  denial  of  inherent  and  vital 
commercial  rights  in  days  of  peace.  Covetous  eyes 
are  said  to  be  cast  upon  outlying  islands  and  sea- 
ports of  Central  America,  and  at  least  two  of  the 
Continental  Powers  are  searching  for  new  colonial 
stations  on  our  coasts,  which  would  form  flanking 
positions  and  rendezvous  in  war,  and  commercial 
points  of  attack  in  peace. 

Such,  briefly  stated,  are  some  of  the  duties  which 
our  relations  to  other  nations  impose  upon  us  ;  but 
besides  these  there  are  others  no  less  imperative, 
and  the  fulfilment  of  which  gives  greater  power  for 
home  and  foreign  defence.  Twenty-five  years  since 
the  approaches  to  our  Atlantic  coast  were  the  most 
dangerous  in  the  world  ;  but  to-day,  so  far  as  the 
hydrographic  work  of  naval  officers  can  be  operative, 
they  are  as  safe  as  any  others  of  equal  importance  ; 
but  these  charts  and  sailing  directions  require  con- 
stant care  and  verification  owing  to  the  shifting  of 
channels  through  the  effect  of  winds  and  currents, 
and  hence  this  work  must  be  permanent  from  its 
vital  relation  to  commerce.  Our  lighthouse  estab- 
lishment is  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  the  success- 
ful administration  of  this  immense  interest  is  being 
conducted  mainly  by  naval  officers,  with  an  efficiency 
and  economy  which  make  it  the  admiration  of  other 
governments.  The  education  of  officers  and  men  is 
zealously  cared  for — that  of  the  former  at  the  Naval 
Academy,  an  institution  the  methods  of  which  are  so 
admirable  as  to  have  gained  for  it  the  highest  award 
of  the  Paris  Exhibition.  The  instruction  of  the  men 
is  an  element  of  the  greatest  value,  for  it  has  been 


Il6  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

found  impossible  to  supply  in  time  of  peace  the  navy 
with  seamen  drawn  from  other  services  or  from  the 
merchant  marine  ;  and  our  government,  like  others, 
has  been  forced  to  establish  training  ships,  where 
youths  are  drilled  in  the  duties  and  subjected  to  the 
discipline  which  will  make  them,  with  their  officers, 
coequally  useful  servants  of  the  Republic.  Navy 
yards  and  other  shore  stations,  boards  of  inspection 
and  examination,  the  manufacture  and  supply  of  ord- 
nance and  of  equipment  stores,  the  Naval  Observa- 
tory, the  Bureaus  of  the  Navy  Department,  the  Tor- 
pedo Station  and  other  important  and  special  duties 
claim  the  services  of  naval  officers.  And  notwith* 
standing  that  the  list  of  officers  is  336  less  than  it 
was  forty  years  since,  and  that  the  country  has  grown 
from  seventeen  to  fifty  millions,  inhabiting  a  territory 
increased  by  the  whole  Pacific  coast,  it  may  be  safely 
asserted  that,  under  like  claims  upon  its  resources, 
no  other  department  of  the  government  can  show 
a  record  equally  as  good. 

To  carry  out  effectively  all  the  duties  of  police, 
commercial  development,  protection,  neutrality,  ex- 
ploration, and  education  of  its  personnel,  the  govern- 
ment has  assigned  its  naval  force  to  five  divisions  : — 
First — The  North  Atlantic.  The  limits  of  this  sta- 
tion extend  from  the  east  coast  of  North  America 
to  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  longitude  west,  or  to 
about  the  meridian  of  the  Grand  Banks,  and  from 
any  indefinite  north  latitude  to  the  equator,  and 
thence  in  a  diagonal  line  westward  along  the  north- 
eastern coast  of  South  America.  Within  this  area, 
though  not  under  its  direction,  are  the  navy  yards 
of  Portsmouth,  Boston,  New  York,  League  Island, 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   1 1/ 

Norfolk,  and  Pensacola,  with  the  naval  stations  of 
New  London  and  Beaufort.  At  present  there  are 
five  vessels  attached  to  this  squadron.  Secondly — 
The  European  station.  This  embraces  the  European, 
Mediterranean,  and  African  coasts,  as  far  south  as 
St.  Paul  de  Loando  ;  thence  diagonally  westward  to 
the  junction  of  the  equator  and  the  forty-fifth  de- 
gree of  west  longitude,  this  meridian  separating  it 
from  the  North  Atlantic  station.  Three  vessels  are 
attached  to  the  fleet,  and  there  is  a  storehouse  at 
Villefranche,  France.  Thirdly — The  South  Atlantic 
station.  This  commences  at  the  southern  limit  of  the 
European,  embraces  all  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Africa 
and  South  America,  and  extends  by  a  late  order 
beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  the  yoth  degree 
of  east  longitude,  and  as  far  north  as  the  equator  in 
that  quarter.  Two  ships  are  attached  to  the  station, 
and  there  is  a  naval  depot  at  Rio  Janeiro.  Fourthly — 
The  Pacific  station.  This  includes  the  Pacific  coasts 
of  North  and  South  America.  North  of  the  equator 
it  extends  to  the  xyoth  degree  of  west  longitude; 
south  of  the  line  it  stretches  to  the  i3oth  degree  of 
east  longitude,  then  curves  northerly  so  as  to  embrace 
the  islands  east  of  Borneo,  and  thence  it  follows  the 
ii5th  degree  of  east  longitude  to  the  Antarctic  conti- 
nent. The  whole  area  embraces  Australia,  Austra- 
lasia, Polynesia,  and  part  of  the  Aleutian  chain.  Six 
vessels  belong  to  the  station,  and  there  is  in  the  north 
a  navy  yard  at  Mare  Island,  and  in  the  south  a  store- 
ship  at  Callao.  Fifthly — The  Asiatic  station.  This 
embraces  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  excluding  the 
waters  of  the  South  Atlantic  station,  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  China  seas,  and  the  northeast  coast  of 


Il8  THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 


Asia  as  far  as  the  lyoth  degree  of  west  longitude. 
Six  vessels  are  attached  to  the  station,  and  there  is  a 
storehouse  at  Nagasaki,  in  Japan. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  Pacific  station  includes 
nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  cruising  area,  China 
about  one-third,  and  the  others  the  remaining  one- 
sixth,  the  proportions  being,  relatively,  Pacific,  7-15  ; 
China,  4-15  ;  South  America,  2-15,  and  Europe  and 
the  North  Atlantic  about  1-15  each.  Assuming  the 
water  space  of  the  world  usually  given,  and  reject- 
ing those  parts  not  of  necessity  subjected  to  the 
visits  of  war  vessels,  there  are  over  one  hundred 
millions  of  water  square  miles  to  be  policed  by  all 
the  navies,  and  as  our  share  we  contribute  twenty- 
three  indifferent  vessels.  This  is  absurdly  small, 
and  improvement  is  necessary  in  the  direction  of  in- 
crease, not  only  of  vessels  but  of  squadrons.  But 
in  doing  this  we  must  remember  that  extension  can 
be  based  only  upon  the  needs  of  commerce-develop- 
ment, and  upon  the  necessity  of  protection  being 
assured  our  citizens  abroad  and  at  home,  the  latter 
being  the  primary  consideration.  Our  trade  with 
Europe  is  fixed  as  to  volume,  direction,  and  growth, 
and  all  attempts  at  change  must  be  made  in  the 
means,  the  vehicles  of  transportation.  Commerce 
with  Japan,  China,  and  Brazil  can  be  profitably  se- 
cured, though  its  development  will  be  of  slower 
growth,  owing  in  the  East  to  the  Oriental  theory  of 
governments  that  the  land  should  support  the  people, 
and,  because  in  all  these  countries  of  the  limits  in- 
evitably imposed  by  the  social,  industrial,  and  eco- 
nomical condition  of  the  importers.  Everywhere 
there  is  evident  less  or  greater  trade  development, 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   119 

based  upon  the  true  laws  of  supply  and  demand,  and 
capable  of  being  fostered  by  judicious  efforts,  which 
under  no  circumstances  mean  subsidies  or  anything 
out  of  a  fair  chance  for  all  our  people  to  compete 
fairly  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  Of  course  there 
are  substantial  obstacles  due  to  our  high  duties,  but 
the  prosperous  British  colonies  will  buy  our  labor- 
saving  machines  and  commodities  if  they  have  a 
chance,  and  the  absence  of  discriminative  duties 
leaves  the  field  as  open  to  American  as  to  British 
merchants. 

Beginning,  then,  with  the  Pacific  fleet,  where  the 
area  is  greatest  and  commerce  development  the  ac- 
tive principle,  it  seems  necessary  to  create  either  two 
stations,  or  one  station  with  two  divisions,  as  in 
1867-71  ;  one  assuming  the  control  over  all  the 
waters  of  the  old  station  north  of,  and  the  other 
of  all  those  south  of,  the  equator.  To  each  should 
be  assigned  five  vessels,  the  greater  area  of  the 
southern  division  and  the  necessities  of  Australian 
trade  being  compensated  for  by  the  extremely  and 
increasingly  delicate  nature  of  our  relations  with 
the  semi-independent  British  American  Dominion 
of  the  Northwest,  and  with  the  unsettled  local  gov- 
ernments of  Mexico.  The  Asiatic  station  should 
be  separated  into  nearly  equal  portions,  under  simi- 
lar conditions  of  administration  as  proposed  above, 
the  southern  to  be  known  as  the  Indian  Ocean 
squadron,  and  to  have  assigned  to  it  as  cruising 
grounds  the  ocean  of  that  name,  the  Red  Sea,  the 
Arabian  Gulf,  and  the  Bay  of  Bengal ;  its  eastern 
limits  should  include  Borneo,  Sumatra,  Java,  and  all 
the  coast  of  Australia  west  of  the  izoth  degree  of 


120  THE    QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

east  longitude.  Four  vessels  should  be  attached  to 
this  squadron  with  a  supply  depot  upon  the  main- 
land. All  to  the  northward  of  this  area  should  be 
assigned  to  the  China  squadron,  and  as  our  citizens 
have  great  and  necessary  interests  there,  not  less 
than  eight  vessels  should  be  selected  as  the  effective 
cruising  force. 

A  glance  at  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  will 
show  the  difficulties  that  enter  into  the  mutual  rela- 
tions of  the  European  and  South  Atlantic  stations. 
Apart  from  the  special  duties  of  each,  they  divide 
between  them  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  the  former 
extending  to  Loando,  the  other  thence  to  the  Cape. 
So  far  as  European  trade  goes  the  navy  can  do  little 
toward  furthering  a  development  which  has  already 
acquired  such  an  unequalled  energy.  There  is  no 
very  great  danger  to  the  lives  or  property  of  our 
citizens  in  those  civilized  lands,  and  it  is  probable 
that  three  ships,  upon  the  plan  of  a  French  naval 
division,  would  be  ample  for  every  demand  which 
use  and  tradition  could  make.  But  outside  these 
limits,  from  Mogador  to  the  Cape,  there  are  promises 
of  a  great  and  increasing  trade.  Under  the  present 
system,  to  reach  the  ports  south  of  Loando,  a  ship 
once  a  year  crosses  the  profitless  expanse  of  the  At- 
lantic from  South  America,  sails  down  the  coast, 
and  then  returns  to  Brazil,  the  best  part  of  her  labor 
and  time  being  absorbed  in  reaching  a  port  and 
seeking  a  storehouse.  It  would  seem  to  be  in  the 
direction  of  a  wise  policy  to  relegate  the  patrol  of 
the  whole  western  coast  of  Africa  to  the  care  of  the 
European  squadron  ;  for  then,  beginning  at  the 
upper  end,  the  vessels  would  communicate  with  the 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.       121 

land,  like  the  reciprocal  action  of  a  cogwheel,  touch- 
ing at  every  needful  point  going  and  coming,  and 
thus  quadrupling,  as  compared  with  the  present  de- 
sultory visiting,  the  opportunities  for  displaying  the 
flag,  settling  disputes,  and  extending  commerce.  To 
effect  this  change  the  waters  of  the  European  station 
should  extend  as  far  west  as  the  3oth  degree  of  west 
longitude  north  and  south  of  the  equator,  and  should 
have  assigned  to  it  six  vessels,  two  or  more  of  these 
being  always  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Cape,  and 
all  of  them  taking  regular  turns  in  cruises  on  both 
coasts.  By  this  change  the  area  of  the  South  At- 
lantic station  would  be  narrowed,  and  three  vessels 
would  be  sufficient  for  its  needs — at  least  until  a 
busier  future  demanded  an  increase. 

The  North  Atlantic  station  is  that  upon  which  our 
main  defence  rests,  and  should  have  not  less  than 
nine  vessels.  In  home  waters,  besides  the  com- 
mercial opportunities  of  Mexico,  Central  and  South 
America,  and  of  the  contiguous  islands,  our  relations 
are  such  that  protection  to  the  coast  is  the  paramount 
duty.  The  internal  conditions  of  the  neighboring 
countries  and  the  irresistible  logic  of  the  history  of 
the  past  thirty  years  prove  the  necessity  of  constant 
care  and  watchfulness.  Wars  may  be  foreseen  and 
their  exigencies  provided  for  at  comparative  leisure, 
but  insurrections  can  never  be  foretold,  and  hence 
the  necessity  in  peace  times  of  an  effective  squadron, 
ready  to  act  upon  any  threatened  point  at  the  short- 
est notice  and  with  the  greatest  advantage.  In  the 
North  the  disputed  questions  of  the  fisheries,  the 
operations  of  reciprocity  treaties,  and  the  dormant 
idea  of  annexation  should  never  be  absent  from  our 


122  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

calculations,  for  the  history  of  British  American  rela- 
tions shows  a  singular  alternation  of  equitable  and 
aggressive  dispositions  toward  the  interests  of  the 
United  States,  and  notably  at  seasons  when  they  have 
been  most  hampered  by  other  complications.  France 
and  Austria,  assisted  at  first  by  Spain  and  England, 
have  in  the  past  made  a  serious  assault  upon  our 
only  asserted  policy ;  and  to-day  some  of  the  trading 
nations  are  seeking  not  only  new  markets  but  new 
colonies  in  the  vicinity  of  our  coasts.  In  the  West 
Indies  we  have  our  hereditary  interests  in  Cuba  and 
the  remembrance  of  difficulties  not  only  unatoned 
for,  but  which  are  believed  abroad,  notably  in  the 
Virginius  case,  to  have  been  settled  by  an  abject 
apology  on  our  part  to  Spain.  All  about  us  are 
islands  the  diverse  ownerships  of  which  are  liable, 
from  European  complications,  to  place  us  in  a  posi- 
tion of  neutrality.  We  cannot  give  up  our  influ- 
ence with  nor  our  interest  in  the  South  and  Central 
American  republics,  struggling  as  they  are,  slowly 
but  surely,  to  the  vantage  grounds  of  constitutional 
liberty  and  progress.  Nor  can  we  view  with  indif- 
ference the  control  either  of  the  Panama  Canal  or 
Transisthmian  Railway,  both  of  which  will  be  as 
much  a  part  of  the  commercial  future  of  this  country 
as  any  of  the  Pacific  Railroads.  The  necessity  of 
acquiring  coaling  stations  and  rendezvous  for  our 
fleets  in  tropical  waters  is  another  element  requiring 
careful  attention,  and  we  must  awaken  to  the  reality 
that  traditions  against  outlying  possessions  are  at 
this  stage  of  our  history  simply  imbecile,  and  are 
worthy  only  a  country  poor  in  resources  and 
trembling  in  abject  fear  of  some  great  naval  power. 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.       123 

Here,  then,  at  home  lie  the  very  greatest  of  our 
needs  and  dangers,  and  here  most  liable  to  appear 
are  the  circumstances  which  demand  a  fleet.  The 
defence  of  our  coasts  is  our  first  duty,  and  opportuni- 
ties should  be  afforded  officers  to  acquire  the  knowl- 
edge essential  to  that  end.  Stretching  a  distance  of 
3,000  miles,  its  demands  are  enormous,  for  the  stra- 
tegic possibilities  of  the  different  basins  as  points  of 
attack,  defence,  and  support  ought  to  be  tested  and 
the  acquaintance  with  these  home  waters  by  the 
average  sea  officer  should  be  that  of  the  intelligent 
coast  pilot,  supplemented  by  the  special  acquisitions 
which  his  combatant  duties  require.  In  turn  each 
of  the  five  great  Gulfs  from  Maine  to  the  Rio  Grande 
should  be  studied  by  a  squadron  of  exercise,  and  all 
the  dispositions  for  its  defence,  and  all  its  capabilities 
as  a  point  of  attack  and  support,  should  be  made  plain 
under  circumstances  as  nearly  analogous  to  those  of 
actual  war  as  possible  ;  in  brief,  here,  upon  our  own 
coast,  should  be  assembled  a  fleet  worthy  of  the 
name,  and  to  it  every  vessel  fitted  out  at  any  Eastern 
port  should  be  sent  for  the  first  six  months  of  a 
cruise,  and  be  subjected  to  its  discipline  and  instruc- 
tion. Twice  a  year,  in  some  one  of  the  great  bays, 
all  the  vessels  should  be  assembled  for  those  drills 
and  exercises  which  infuse  a  healthy  spirit  of  rivalry, 
give  uniformity  to  routine  and  organization,  and,  best 
of  all,  enable  our  officers  to  understand  intelligently 
the  inevitable  conditions  under  which  modern  sea 
battles  will  be  fought. 

In  his  report  for  this  year  Secretary  Chandler  de- 
clares "  There  is  one  measure  of  national  defence 
in  regard  to  which  the  argument  cannot  be  made, 


124  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

as  in  the  case  of  ships  and  guns,  that  modern  discov- 
ery is  likely  to  make  such  improvements  in  the  art  of 
construction  that  action  might  for  the  present  be  de- 
ferred. This  is  the  creation  of  an  interior  coast  line 
of  water-ways  across  the  head  of  the  peninsula  of 
Florida,  along  the  coast  from  Florida  to  Hampton 
Roads,  between  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  Dela- 
ware, and  through  Cape  Cod.  To  these  should  be 
added  a  railroad  from  the  mainland  of  Florida  to  Key 
West.  To  secure  the  combined  commercial  and 
military  advantages  which  these  avenues  for  mer- 
chant and  naval  vessels  would  afford,  work  should 
be  immediately  begun  and  deliberately  and  econ- 
omically prosecuted,  and  not  left  to  be  done  hastily 
and  expensively  in  an  emergency. 

"  The  United  States  should  not  be  dependent,"  he 
continues,  "upon  the  ports  of  the  great  naval  powers 
for  coal  for  the  various  squadrons  in  foreign  waters. 
We  have  already  established  coaling  stations  at  Hon- 
olulu, the  Samoan  Islands,  and  at  Pichilingue,  in 
Lower  California  ;  and  the  Monongahela  is  being 
fitted  for  a  store-ship  at  Callao,  to  hold  1,000  tons  of 
coal.  Authority  should  be  asked  from  Congress  to 
fix  the  above  stations  on  a  firm  basis,  and  to  establish 
additional  coaling  and  naval  stations  at  some  or  all  of 
the  following  points  :  Samana  Bay,  or  some  port  in 
Hayti ;  Curacao,  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  ;  Santa  Ca- 
tharina,  in  Brazil  ;  the  Straits  of  Magellan  ;  La 
Union,  in  Salvador,  or  Amapala,  in  Honduras  ; 
Tullear  Bay,  in  Madagascar  ;  Monrovia,  in  Liberia  ; 
the  Island  of  Fernando  Po  ;  and  Port  Hamilton, 
in  the  Nan-how  Islands  of  Corea  ;  from  which  lat- 
ter naval  station  and  the  ports  of  Corea  there  should 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.      125 

be  established  a  regular  line  of  steamers  carrying 
the  United  States  flag,  connecting  with  the  present 
American  line  between  San  Francisco  and  Japan. 
Similar  stations  should  in  addition  be  maintained,  one 
at  the  best  point  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  and  another  at  the  Islands  of  Flamenco, 
Perico,  Culebra,  and  Henao  on  the  Pacific  side,  now 
owned  by  American  corporations." 

To  give  our  navy  an  effective  status,  an  immediate 
increase  in  the  number  of  our  ships  is  necessary. 

In  the  report  of  the  first  Naval  Advisory  Board  it 
was  asserted  that,  "taking  into  proper  consideration 
the  various  requirements  of  the  different  squadrons 
for  surveying,  deep-sea  sounding,  protection  and 
advancement  of  A'merican  commerce,  exploration, 
protection  of  American  life  and  property  endan- 
gered by  wars  between  foreign  countries,  and  ser- 
vice in  support  of  American  policy  in  matters 
where  foreign  governments  are  concerned,  forty- 
three  unarmored  cruising  vessels  are  required  con- 
stantly in  commission,  or  twelve  more  than  are  pos- 
sibly available  now,  in  case  of  the  most  urgent 
necessity,  both  in  commission  and  in  reserve.  In- 
creasing this  number  by  fifty  per  centum  in  order  to 
obtain  a  reserve  of  sufficient  strength  to  maintain 
the  effectiveness  of  the  fleet,  a  total  of  sixty-five  ves- 
sels is  obtained,  which  would  be  sufficient  were  it 
nqj  for  the  fact  that  the  present  condition  and  lim- 
ited lifetime  of  some  of  the  vessels  included  will  soon 
weaken  the  number  very  materially.  To  allow  for 
this  loss  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Board  that  five  more 
vessels  should  be  added,  giving  a  total  number  neces- 
sary to  perform  efficiently  the  work  of  the  navy  at 


126 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 


present  of  seventy  vessels.  Taking  from  this  the 
thirty-two  vessels  now  available,  the  Board  is  of  the 
opinion  that  thirty-eight  unarmored  cruising  vessels 
should  now  be  built." 

Finally,  in  August,  1882,  and  March,  1883,  Con- 
gress authorized  an  increase  of  the  navy,  and  in 
Mr.  Chandler's  report  to  the  President,  under  date 
of  December  i,  1883,  he  says  : 

"  The  three  new  steel  war  vessels  and  the  armed 
despatch  steamer  'authorized  at  the  last  session  of 
Congress,  which  have  been  named  the  Chicago, 
Boston,  Atlanta,  and  Dolphin,  are  in  the  course  of 
construction  and  will  be  completed,  the  cruisers 
within  eighteen  and  the  despatch  boat  within  twelve 
months  from  the  last  week  in  July,  1883.  The  gen- 
eral dimensions  and  characteristics  of  the  ships  will 
be  as  follows  : — 


I 

Breadth, 

1 

P 

Displacement. 

Indicated 
horse-power. 

Estimated 
sea-speed. 

Estimated 
smooth-water 
speed. 

-G  a 

H 

Armament  of 
heavy  guns.  : 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Feet 

Tons. 

Knots. 

Knots. 

Tons. 

Chicago  

315 

48 

*9 

4.5oo 

5,000 

»4 

16 

940 

14 

Boston    

270 

17 

3,000 

3.500 

13 

14 

580 

8 

Atlanta  

270 

42 

X7 

3,000 

3.500 

'3 

14 

580 

8 

Dolphin  

240 

32 

'4 

1,500 

2,300 

15 

3'° 

i 

"These  vessels  represent  three  main  types  of  un- 
armored war  ships  now  universally  considered  ^as 
indispensable  components  of  any  fleet  suitable  for 
general  national  service  upon  the  high  seas.  The 
Chicago  is  an  example  of  the  largest  and  best  un- 
armored cruising  and  fighting  vessels  now  built, 
and  will  have  no  superior  in  the  world  in  the  combi- 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.      127 

nation  of  speed,  endurance,  and  armament.  In  the 
Boston  and  Atlanta,  speed  and  endurance  have  been 
given  full  development,  while  their  fighting  power 
has  been  notably  increased  by  placing  the  battery 
in  a  central  superstructure  on  the  spar-deck,  and  by 
adopting  a  brig  rig,  thereby  leaving  the  extremities 
clear  and  unobstructed  for  fore  and  aft  fire. 

"  In  the  Dolphin  an  important  auxiliary  in  naval 
operations  will  be  obtained,  and  she  is  expected  to 
furnish  an  excellent  model  from  which  may  be  ex- 
panded a  high-speed  commerce-destroyer,  instead  of 
taking  as  a  standard  either  the  overgrown  merchant 
line  steamers  or  the  large  and  expensive  despatch 
vessels  which  have  been  built  abroad,  of  question- 
able utility  in  time  of  peace, 

"The  ships  are  now  under  construction  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Appropriation  Acts  of  August  5,  1882, 
and  March  3,  1883,  authorizing  such  increase  of  the 
navy,  under  the  advice  and  supervision  of  the 
Naval  Advisory  Board.  By  public  advertisement 
and  notice  of  August  5,  1882,  as  required  by  the  Act 
of  that  date,  all  designers  and  builders  of  ships, 
marine  engines,  or  ordnance  were  invited  to  submit 
plans  of  any  of  the  vessels,  or  any  part  thereof,  with- 
in the  period  of  sixty  days  after  August  2oth ;  and 
further  notice  was  given,  November  xyth,  that  such 
period  would  be  extended  up  to  the  time  for  final 
decision  and  action.  After  the  general  features  of 
the  vessels  were  indicated  by  the  Board,  they  were 
submitted  to  all  shipbuilders  likely  to  make  propo- 
sals for  their  construction,  with  requests  for  their 
advice  and  suggestions  concerning  the  designs,  with 
the  view  of  reaching  such  final  plans  and  specifica- 


128 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 


tions  as  would  give  the  best  and  most  effective  ships 
that  could  be  built.  All  plans,  models,  designs,  sug- 
gestions, and  explanations  from  any  quarter  were 
fully  examined  and  reported  upon  by  the  Board. 
The  general  features  and  essential  requisites  of  the 
ships  having  been  settled  by  the  Department  and 
the  Advisory  Board,  the  plans  and  specifications  were 
prepared  by  the  Bureaus  of  Construction  and  Repair 
and  of  Steam  Engineering;  and  on  May  2,  1883, 
advertisements  were  published,  as  required  by  the 
Act  of  March  3,  1883,  inviting  proposals  for  their 
construction  ;  these  were  opened  on  Monday,  July 
2d,  and  all  the  contracts  were  on  the  day  following 
awarded  to  the  lowest  bidder,  Mr.  John  Roach, 
of  New  York  City.  The  contract  for  the  Chicago 
is  dated  July  26th,  with  a  bond  for  due  completion 
in  the  sum  of  $500,000 ;  the  contracts  for  the 
Boston  and  Atlanta  are  dated  July  23d,  with  bonds 
for  $300,000  each  ;  the  contract  for  the  Dolphin  is 
dated  July  23d,  with  a  bond  for  $150,000. 

"  The  estimates,  the  contract  prices,  and  the  next 
lowest  bids  were  as  follows  : 


Cost  estimated  by 
the   Advisory 
Board. 

Contract  prices. 

Next  lowest  bids. 

Chicago  

$1,248,000 

$889,000 

$1,080  ooo 

Boston  

78-?,  <coo 

619,000 

650,000 

Atlanta  

781,  «x> 

617,000 

650,000 

Dolphin  . 

^QQ.OOO 

3IS.OOO 

•571:  OOO 

showing  a  total  cost  for  the  hull  and  machinery  of 
the  vessels,  including  the  masts,  spars,  boats,  and 
rigging,  for  preparing  which  the  navy  yards  are  to 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   129 

be  utilized,  of  $2,440,000,  being  $774,100  less  than 
the  estimates,  and  $315,000  less  than  the  next  lowest 
bids. 

"The  statutes  authorizing  the  construction  of  the 
cruisers  require  that  they  shall  be  built  of  '  steel  of 
domestic  manufacture,  having  as  near  as  may  be  a 
tensile  strength  of  not  less  than  60,000  pounds  to 
the  square  inch,  and  a  ductility  in  8  inches  of  not 
less  than  25  per  centum.'  Fears  were,  for  a  time, 
entertained  that  contracts  for  bu  ilding  the  vessels 
could  not  be  effected  at  reasonal  le  prices,  because 
of  the  hesitancy  of  the  steelmake  rs  of  this  country 
to  bind  themselves  to  furnish  the  steel  required,  sub- 
ject to  the  scientific  and  practical  tests  prescribed 
by  the  Advisory  Board  to  insure  a  compliance  with 
the  law.  All  difficulties  have,  however,  been  hap- 
pily overcome  ;  and  the  demonstration  that  such 
material  can  be  here  produced  at  moderate  cost,  is, 
of  itself,  of  great  importance  in  the  progress  of  our 
mechanical  industries. 

"  The  present  condition  of  our  national  fleet  makes 
it  necessary  that  the  work  of  reconstruction  should 
be  continued  as  rapidly  as  a  due  regard  for  economy 
will  admit.  Accordingly,  the  Advisory  Board  sub- 
mitted a  report  dated  October  25,  1883,  of  its  views 
as  to  the  new  work  which  should  be  undertaken  in 
the  coming  year.  It  recommends  the  construction 
of  seven  additional  unarmored  steel  cruisers,  three 
of  which  should  conform  to  the  types  already 
adopted,  as  represented  by  the  Chicago,  the  Boston, 
and  the  Dolphin.  Of  the  other  four,  two  should  be 
heavily  armed  cruising  gunboats  of  about  1,500  tons 
displacement.  These  would  be  of  the  same  size  as 
9 


130 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 


the  Dolphin,  but  constructed  on  a  different  plan,  be- 
cause intended  to  supply  a  different  want.  In  the 
Dolphin,  which  is  designed  for  a  specific  purpose, 
actual  fighting  and  working  qualities  are  limited,  so 
as  to  obtain  the  maximum  speed  and  endurance 
possible  with  her  size,  while  in  the  proposed  vessels 
the  aim  will  be  to  secure  the  highest  amount  of 
efficiency  for  general  service,  both  in  peace  and  war. 
Finally,  in  view  of  the  necessity  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  vessels  of  small  size  and  light  draft,  the 
Board  recommends  the  construction  of  two  gunboats 
of  about  750  tons  displacement,  and  not  more  than 
nine  feet  draft,  which  shall  be  capable  of  going  to  sea 
and  also  of  navigating  shallow  waters. 

"  The  estimated  cost  of  vessels  of  the  proposed 
types  is  as  follows  : 


Type. 

Hull. 

Machinery. 

Ordnance. 

Equipment. 

Total. 

Chicago  

$225,000 

Heavy  gunboat.  .  . 
Light  gunboat  

216,000 
132,000 

175,000 
•,7,000 

100,000 
40,000 

25,600 
20,000 

516,000 
269,OOO 

"The  total  cost  of  the  five  vessels,  one  of  each  type, 
will  be  $3,498,000,  and  adding  the  cost  of  the  two 
additional  vessels  of  the  last  two  types,  the  total 
cost  of  the  seven  vessels  proposed  by  the  Board,  and 

aggre£ating  I3»5°°  tons>  will  be  $4,283,000. 

"  The  Board  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  limit  of 
combined  efficiency  and  economy  is  reached  in  the 
cruiser  of  the  Chicago  type,  of  4,500  tons  displace- 
ment, and  it  condemns  any  policy  looking  to  the 
present  construction  of  cruisers  that  shall  rival  in 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.      131 

speed  the  fastest  transatlantic  steamers.  The  mer- 
chant steamers  having  this  exceptionally  high  speed 
comprise  less  than  one-hundredth  part  of  the  ocean 
steam-tonnage  of  the  world,  either  in  number  or 
value,  and  most  of  them  in  the  event  of  a  war  would 
be  withdrawn  from  their  ordinary  pursuits.  In  order 
to  match  their  speed  it  would  be  necessary  tp  build 
vessels  with  a  displacement  of  at  least  11,000  tons  ; 
and  while  the  great  draft  and  dimensions  of  such 
vessels  would  confine  their  general  efficiency  within 
the  narrowest  limits,  they  would  absorb  for  their 
maintenance  and  management  an  undue  share  of  the 
current  appropriations  and  of  the  existing  allowance 
of  seamen.  Furthermore,  the  cost  of  building  and 
fully  equipping  one  such  vessel  would  be  at  least 
$4,000,000,  or  nearly  as  much  as  that  of  all  the  seven 
ships  recommended  by  the  Board. 

"  In  the  above  opinion  and  recommendations  the 
Department  concurs.  If,  however,  it  should  appear 
to  Congress  desirable  to  construct  one  vessel  in 
which  all  other  qualities  shall  be  sacrificed  to  the 
attainment  of  the  highest  possible  speed,  and  to  pro- 
vide for  maintaining  it  in  commission,  the  Depart- 
ment will  gladly  submit  plans  and  estimates  there- 
for, and  the  vessel  when  completed  will  no  doubt 
add  to  the  capabilities  of  the  Navy.  But  the  im- 
mediate object  should  be  at  moderate  expense  to  re- 
place our  worn-out  cruisers  with  modern  construc- 
tions fitted  for  general  service,  and  for  this  reason 
the  reconstruction  should  for  the  present  be  con- 
tinued on  the  lines  already  begun.  In  representing 
the  recommendations  of  the  Board,  the  Department, 
in  addition,  advises  the  construction  of  one  of  the 


132  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

five  steel  rams  recommended  by  the  first  Advisory 
Board,  November  7,  1881,  and  by  the  report  of  last 
year ;  of  one  cruising  torpedo-boat,  at  a  cost  of 
$38,000,  advocated  by  the  same  Board,  and  by  the 
present  Board  in  its  memorandum  of  November  21, 
1882  ;  and  of  two  of  the  ten  harbor  torpedo-boats 
recommended  by  the  first  Board,  of  the  kind  asked 
for  in  the  ordnance  report  of  this  year. 

"The  recommendations  of  the  Board  and  the 
Department  are  believed  to  be  in  pursuance  of  a 
wise  plan  for  that  reconstruction  of  our  naval  force 
which  all  admit  is,  in  some  form  and  to  some  extent, 
indispensable  to  the  national  welfare.  Such  a  plan 
should  conform  to  the  demands  of  our  national  policy. 
The  scope  of  that  policy,  as  it  relates  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  military  establishment,  has  been  clearly 
and  ably  outlined  by  the  late  President  Garfield,  and 
his  judicious  words  may  well  serve  as  guides  in  any 
action  that  we  may  take  to-day.  In  a  speech  made 
in  1878,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  he  said  : 
'  The  men  who  created  this  Constitution  also  set  it 
in  operation,  and  developed  their  own  idea  of  its 
character.  That  idea  was  unlike  any  other  that 
then  prevailed  upon  the  earth.  They  made  the 
general  welfare  of  the  people  the  great  source  and 
foundation  of  the  common  defence.  In  all  nations 
of  the  old  world  the  public  defence  was  provided  for 
by  great  standing  armies,  navies,  and  fortified  posts, 
so  that  the  nation  might  every  moment  be  fully 
armed  against  danger  from  without  or  turbulence 
within.  Our  fathers  said  :  "  Though  we  will  use  the 
taxing  power  to  maintain  a  small  army  and  navy, 
sufficient  to  keep  alive  the  knowledge  of  war,  yet 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE.   133 

the  main  reliance  for  our  defence  shall  be  the  intel- 
ligence, culture,  and  skill  of  our  people  ;  a  develop- 
ment of  our  own  intellectual  and  material  resources 
which  will  enable  us  to  do  everything  that  may  be 
necessary  to  equip,  clothe,  and  feed  ourselves  in 
time  of  war,  and  make  ourselves  intelligent,  happy, 
and  prosperous  in  peace." 

"  With  the  views  of  American  policy  thus  expressed 
the  Department  is  in  perfect  accord.  It  is  not  now, 
and  it  never  has  been,  a  part  of  that  policy  to  main- 
tain a  fleet  able  at  any  time  to  cope  on  equal  terms 
with  the  foremost  European  armaments.  The  pos- 
sibility of  such  war  is  not  lost  sight  of  ;  but  with  our 
isolated  position,  and  traditional  peace  policy,  it  is 
a  remote  contingency,  and  we  should  cherish  no  am- 
bition to  take  the  lead  among  the  naval  powers  of  the 
world  ;  certainly  not  until  we  again  become  foremost 
in  the  possession  of  a  merchant  marine.  Any  differ- 
ence which  would- involve  us  in  a  conflict  with  one  of 
the  great  powers  should  be  the  growth  of  time,  afford- 
ing opportunity  for  gradual  preparation.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  order  to  be  prepared,  not  merely  by 
the  potentiality  of  our  immense  resources,  but  also 
by  an  actual  armament,  to  assert  at  all  times  our 
natural,  justifiable,  and  necessary  ascendency  in 
the  affairs  of  the  American  hemisphere,  we  un- 
questionably need  vessels  in  such  numbers  as  fully 
to  '  keep  alive  the  knowledge  of  war,'  and  of  such 
a  kind  that  it  shall  be  a  knowledge  of  modern  war  ; 
capable  on  brief  notice  of  being  expanded^  into  in- 
vincible squadrons.  It  is  well  known  that  we  have 
not  the  elements  of  such  a  force  to-day.  The  con- 
dition of  decrepitude  into  which  the  fleet  has  fallen, 


134  THE   QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

through  a  failure  to  provide  for  its  gradual  re- 
newal by  modern  ships,  is  justly  a  subject  of  rid- 
icule at  home  and  abroad.  The  vessels  available 
for  actual  service  are  insufficient  to  give  training  to 
the  officers  and  seamen,  unequal  to  the  present 
necessities  of  the  Government,  and  unworthy  of  a 
great  and  prosperous  maritime  state. 

"The  specific  plan,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Department,  should  be  adopted,  looks  to  a  gradual 
replacement  of  the  present  decaying  fleet  by  modern 
constructions.  The  proviso  of  the  Act  of  March  3, 
1883,  limiting  the  repair  of  wooden  ships  to  20  per 
cent,  of  their  cost,  should  be  continued  in  force,  in 
order  that  no  money  may  be  expended  in  rebuilding 
wornout  structures  of  an  obsolete  type.  Provision 
should  then  be  made  for  building  new  cruisers,  with 
due  care  and  economy,  by  an  annual  outlay  extend- 
ing over  a  considerable  period.  At  least  seven 
modern  vessels  should  be  built  in  each  year,  until 
the  Government  has  acquired  a  new  steel  navy.  Of 
the  annual  expenditure  of  four  millions  which  such 
a  plan  would  require,  from  one-third  to  one-half  can 
be  saved  by  abandoning  attempts  to  rebuild  the 
present  wooden  fleet,  and  by  otherwise  retrench- 
ments in  the  naval  appropriations. 

"  In  pursuance  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  August  5, 
1882,  and  of  reports  of  the  inspection  boards,  made 
as  therein  directed,  the  following  condemned  vessels 
have  been  stricken  from  the  Navy  Register :  Con- 
gress, Guard,  Plymouth,  Kansas,  Emerald,  Massachu- 
setts, Sabine,  Connecticut,  Iowa,  Niagara,  Oregon, 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Florida,  Blue  Light, 
New  Orleans,  Colossus,  Java,  Susquehanna,  Glance, 


THE  NAVY  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE,      135 

Burlington,  Supply,  Sorrel,  Antietam,  Dictator, 
Frolic,  Relief,  Pawnee,  Rose,  Benicia,  Nyack,  Saco, 
Old  Monadnock,  Narragansett,  Tuscarora,  Alaska, 
Worcester,  Canandaigua,  Jean  Sands,  Shavvmut, 
Savannah,  Santee,  Phlox,  Wyoming,  Roanoke. 

"  Of  these  vessels,  the  Wyoming,  Antietam,  Sup- 
ply, Emerald,  Santee,  Phlox,  Jean  Sands,  and  Rose 
have  been  reserved  for  purposes  for  which  they  can 
be  made  useful,  or  for  future  sale.  The  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
Colossus,  Java,  and  Canandaigua,  all  except  the  last 
being  uncompleted  at  the  navy  yards,  will  doubtless 
be  there  taken  to  pieces,  as  they  cannot  be  advan- 
tageously sold.  The  remaining  twenty-seven  vessels, 
excluding  the  Florida,  Pawnee,  and  Benicia,  for 
which  no  bids  were  made,  have  been  sold  to  the 
highest  bidders,  in  accordance  with  the  statute. 
Their  appraised  value  was  $330,100,  and  they  sold 
for  $384,753,  an  advance  of  $54,653  over  the  ap- 
praisement. 

"  Sales  at  public  auction  of  condemned  stores  and 
supplies  have  also  been  made  at  the  navy  yards  under 
the  provisions  of  the  second  section  of  the  act, 
amounting  to  about  $138,000."  Wise  words  are 
these,  and  not  the  least  pregnant  of  the  most  states- 
manlike document  ever  issued  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, and  we  should  bear  them  in  mind,  for  our 
naval  future  and  national  honor  hinge  upon  their 
truth. 

The  first  Advisory  Board,  in  its  report  of  Novem- 
ber 7,  1881,  gave  an  estimate  of  the  required  strength 
of  a  suitable  unarmored  cruising  fleet.  The  report 
of  this  Board,  composed  of  erninent  naval  officers, 


136  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

represents  the  highest  professional  opinion,  and 
certainly  these  officers  would  not  underestimate  the 
necessities  of  the  Government.  The  standard  adopted 
by  them  may  therefore  be  safely  regarded  as  a  maxi- 
mum for  the  naval  force  in  time  of  peace.  The  re- 
port fixed  the  number  of  vessels  required  in  commis- 
sion at  all  times  at  forty-three,  and  the  reserve  at 
twenty-seven,  making  a  total  of  seventy.  To  pro- 
vide such  a  force  it  recommended  the  construction 
of  thirty-eight  vessels.  Further  deterioration  in  the 
existing  fleet  since  the  report  was  made  will  necessi- 
tate an  increase  in  the  number  of  new  ships  in  order 
to  obtain  the  force  established  by  the  Board.  As 
sufficient  for  that  result,  the  Navy  Department  there- 
fore advises  the  continuance  of  the  policy  recom- 
mended, of  building  annually  at  least  seven  new 
ships  during  the  next  ten  years,  before  the  end  of 
which  period  the  country  will  find  itself  possessed 
of  a  modern  steel  navy  in  every  way  adequate  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  safety  and  honor  of  the  nation. 


CHAPTER  X. 

UNION   OF   THE   NAVY  AND   THE   MERCHANT   MARINE. 

DURING  the  last  session  of  Congress  two  notable 
reports  upon  the  commercial  marine  were  submitted, 
one  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the  other  by  the 
joint  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  causes 
of  the  decline  of  American  shipping.  Both  agreed 
materially  as  to  the  means  required  for  the  revival 
of  our  merchant  marine  ;  and  there  was  an  equal 
agreement  as  to  the  necessity  of  some  centralized, 
logical  form  of  administration.  Upon  this  latter 
point  Mr.  Chandler  said  in  his  report :  "  The  vari- 
ous services  now  charged  with  the  supervision  and 
regulation  of  matters  relating  to  the  merchant  mar- 
ine should  be  brought  together  in  one  department 
or  bureau  of  the  Government,  which  should  be  dis- 
tinctly charged  with  the  execution  of  laws  concern- 
ing the  shipping  interests  of  the  country,  and  to 
which  ship  owners  could  look  for  assistance  and  for 
the  reception  and  presentation  of  their  claims. 
There  exists  at  present  no  responsible  head  to  which 
are  entrusted  the  interests  of  our  merchant  marine. 
Those  branches  of  the  subject  of  which  the  Govern- 
ment undertakes  supervision  are  so  scattered  among 
subordinate  officers,  variously  related,  and  loosely 
organized,  that  the  industry  might  as  well  be  left  to 
itself."  "The  simplest  and  most  natural  method  of 


138  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

accomplishing  the  desired  object,"  he  continues, 
"consists  in  the  establishment  of  a  Bureau  of  Mer- 
cantile Marine  in  the  Navy  Department. 

The  Congressional  Committee  at  the  conclusion 
of  its  report  declared,  that  "  the  English  merchant 
marine  and  English  commerce  have  been  greatly 
aided  by  the  watchful  supervision  and  regulations  of 
the  British  Board  of  Trade,  whose  president  is  a 
member  of  the  Cabinet.  In  the  executive  depart- 
ment of  our  Government  we  have  no  board  nor  bu- 
reau with  similar  duties  and  power,  and  none  which 
is  required  by  law  even  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over 
the  interests  of  our  shipping,  except  for  the  pur- 
poses of  collecting  the  revenues.  Whether  it  would 
not  be  wise  to  establish  in  the  Treasury  Department 
a  Bureau  or  Board  of  Commerce  and  Navigation,  of 
which  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  be  the 
official  head,  with  powers  and  duties  in  some  respect 
akin  to  those  of  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  is  al- 
ready under  consideration  by  the  Committees  on 
>  Commerce  of  the  Senate  and  the  House,  and  will 
undoubtedly  receive  the  attention  it  deserves." 

These  suggested  plans  of  administration  differ  only 
in  the  departments  to  which  they  were  to  be  en- 
trusted, and  in  the  degree  of  authority  which  it  was 
proposed  to  vest ;  both  are  excellent  in  principle, 
because  the  tendency  is  in  the  right  direction,  and 
from  either  only  good  can  come.  In  considering  the 
question  in  the  light  of  the  failure  of  this  bill,  it  be- 
comes therefore  a  question  simply  how  and  where 
the  best  results  may  be  obtained. 

The  English  Board  of  Trade  is  composed  of  "  the 
Lords  of  the  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  ap- 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.     139 

pointed  for  the  consideration  of  matters  relating  to 
Trade  and  Foreign  Plantations."  Under  the  presi- 
dency of  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  who  is  assisted 
by  a  parliamentary  and  a  permanent  secretary,  there 
are  five  departments,  viz.  :  Harbor,  Marine,  Railway, 
Finance,  and  Statistical,  each  in  charge  of  an  assistant 
secretary,  and  one,  Law,  under  the  direction  of  a 
solicitor.  Professional  experts  are  attached  to  each, 
naval  officers  serving  on  the  Marine  and  Harbor 
Boards,  and  military  officers  upon  the  Railway  staff. 
The  general  duties  of  the  Board  in  relation  to  Eng- 
lish vessels  may  be  found  in  Part  I.  of  the  "Mer- 
chant Shipping  Acts."  This  code  of  laws  is  admir- 
able in  the  breadth  and  wisdom  of  its  provisions,  and 
so  far  as  the  conditions  permit,  it  is  enforced  with 
zeal  and  intelligence  ;  there  are,  however,  objections 
to  the  methods  of  administration,  which  would  ob- 
tain equally  here  with  the  plan  proposed  by  the 
Congressional  Committee.  Broadly  stated  these  are, 
First,  that  the  control  is  given  to  officials  whose 
fitness  may  be  questioned  because  of  their  want 
of  the  special  training  which  is  vital.  Secondly,  that 
an  important  and  specific  branch  of  government  is 
made  a  part  of  a  general  department,  which  admin- 
isters enormous  and  most  variant  interests.  Thirdly, 
that  though  each  of  these  interests  is  distinct  in  its 
aims  and  purposes,  and  requires  a  special  experience, 
yet  all  are  brought  together  in  a  system  where  the 
final  jurisdiction  rests  with  officials  who  cannot 
have  either  the  sufficient  knowledge  or  training 
which  the  responsibility  assumed  presupposes  ;  and 
Fourthly,  that  a  new  bureau  is  created  while  an  old 
one  already  exists  which  is  not  only  co-central  in  its 


I4O  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

purposes,  but  is  in  possession  of  such  advantages  for 
the  work  that  the  control  of  the  merchant  marine 
will  not  involve  its  own  affairs  with  those  of  any 
other  branch  of  Government. 

These  are  the  general  objections  to  the  system 
recommended  by  the  Congressional  Committee  ;  but 
there  are  others  governed  by  political  considerations. 
For  those  who  desire  more  detailed  information  as 
to  the  defects  of  our  present  laws,  including  a  com- 
parison of  our  system  with  that  of  other  countries, 
and  a  full  argument  as  to  the  establishment  of  a 
central  bureau  in  the  Navy  Department,  the  Appen- 
dices to  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for 
last  year  are  open. 

No  two  branches  of  government  are  more  nearly 
allied  than  the  navy  and  the  merchant  marine.  The 
first  responsibility  of  a  naval  establishment  is  the  de- 
fence of  a  nation's  coast,  this  being  the  pure  and  sim- 
ple duty  of  men  who  transfer  destructive  energy  from 
shore  to  sea ;  and  its  second  is  the  guardianship  of  a 
nation's  commerce  afloat.  In  return  the  merchant 
marine  is  the  school  where  the  reserve  which  may 
be  called  into  action  during  emergencies  or  war  is 
trained  and  maintained.  If  there  were  no  merchant 
marine  there  would  be  no  need  for  a  navy  either  to 
foster  commerce  or  to  police  and  survey  the  seas, 
and  a  naval  establishment  would  consist  very  prop- 
erly of  coast-defence  vessels  manned  by  stokers,  and 
by  such  artillerymen  as  had  their  sea-legs.  But  a 
merchant  marine  is  an  economical  necessity  to  every 
sea-board  country  ;  for,  briefly  generalized,  its  ad- 
vantages are  that  it  enriches  in  seasons  of  general 
peace  the  nations  owning  it,  and  instils  that  sense 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.   H! 

of  self-respect  which  comes  from  healthy  rivalry 
with  other  competing  maritime  countries ;  when 
neutral  nations  are  at  war  it  secures  the  safe  trans- 
mission of  property  belonging  to  its  citizens,  and 
relieves  them  from  a  perilous  dependence  upon  the 
ships  of  nations  liable  to  capture  and  confiscation  ; 
in  war  or  when  an  emergency  arises,  it  becomes  the 
reserve  from  which  seamen  and  officers  are  to  be 
drawn  ;  and  at  all  times  it  advances  prosperity  at 
home,  and  promotes  and  diffuses  the  influence  of 
a  nation  beyond  its  borders  far  more  than  agri- 
culture, mines,  or  manufactures.  It  quickens  a  na- 
tion's powers  and  infuses  life  and  vigor  into  its 
international  relations ;  for  the  flag  flying  at  the 
mast-head  of  a  vessel  typifies  the  individuality  of  a 
country  and  asserts  its  place  among  the  govern- 
ments of  the  world.  The  merchant  marine,  there- 
fore, claims  protection  in  its  best  and  widest  sense 
abroad  and  at  home ;  and  in  the  high  seas  and  in 
foreign  waters  this  means  safety  from  alien  inter- 
ference by  capture,  destruction,  detention,  search,  or 
insult.  To  afford  protection  effective  war  ships  and 
competent  crews  are  necessary  ;  the  first  must  al- 
ways be  the  best  which  the  modern  idea  can  design ; 
they  must  be  sufficient  in  number  to  show  the  flag 
everywhere,  and  they  must  have  such  means  of  of- 
fence and  defence  as  to  impress  an  enemy,  whether 
open  or  disguised,  with  the  necessity  of  fair  play.  A 
competent  personnel  implies  good  men  and  trained 
officers  and  so  many  of  both  that  duty  afloat  and 
ashore  may  be  performed  with  efficiency  and  fidelity ; 
and  finally  there  must  be  an  active  reserve  from 
which  reliefs  can  be  drawn  at  all  times,  and  a  po- 


142  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

tential  one  which  in  emergencies  will  supply  the 
trained  seamen  upon  whom  the  safety  of  the  country 
mainly  depends.  Therefore  is  it  that  the  obligations 
of  the  merchant  marine  and  the  navy  are  mutual 
and  interdependent  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  de- 
fence of  a  country  in  war  and  to  the  protection  of 
commercial  interests  in  foreign  waters  under  all  cir- 
cumstances. 

At  home  there  is  a  relationship  no  less  close. 
Under  any  proper  system  the  administration  of  the 
shipping  of  a  nation  requires  educated  officials, 
specially  trained  in  maritime  affairs  ;  the  national 
safety  depends  upon  the  maintenance  and  instruc- 
tion at  all  times  of  a  reasonable  naval  force  ;  there 
must  be  a  nucleus  of  war  ships,  of  sailors,  and  of 
officers ;  not  so  many  of  these,  it  is  true,  as  the  possi- 
bilities of  attack  demand,  but  more  than  the  opera- 
tions of  peace  require ;  that  is,  there  must  be  enough 
to  meet  the  first  necessities  of  those  emergencies 
which  always  arise.  There  is  no  escape  from  this 
simple  propositipn,  and  hence,  being  obliged  to  keep 
such  a  force,  the  nation  can  be  best  and  most  eco- 
nomically served  by  extending  the  sphere  of  active 
naval  employment  so  as  to  require  officers  and  sea- 
men of  the  navy  to  perform  all  the  work  of  the 
national  government  upon  or  in  direct  connection 
with  the  ocean.  "  This  clear  and  salutary  princi- 
ple," writes  Mr.  Chandler,  "  should  be  deliberately 
adopted  and  effectually  enforced  in  all  proper  meth- 
ods by  the  national  Congress,"  for  its  outcome  would 
be  to  invigorate,  improve,  and  strengthen  the  navy 
"not  only  without  increased  expense  to  the  Govern- 
ment, but  with  results  of  positive  economy."  Its 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.      143 

effect  upon  the  merchant  marine  can  be  best  made 
plain  by  a  statement  of  the  necessities  of  this  latter 
service. 

Under  every  form  of  government  shipping  is  enti- 
tled to  the  same  treatment  and  care  as  any  other 
form  of  invested  capital.  That  their  titles  may  be 
clear,  vessels  are  enrolled,  registered,  and  licensed  ; 
and  their  fitness  for  the  trusts  reposed  in  them  is 
guaranteed  by  their  survey,  measurement,  and  inspec- 
tion. Besides  these  precautions  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
State  to  see  that  reasonable  security  against  acci- 
dents is  assured  ;  that  crews  and  officers  are  properly 
selected,  and  that  their  rights  and  those  of  passen- 
gers, shippers,  insurers,  and  owners  are  guarded  ;  that 
the  health  of  all  seafaring  persons  is  not  endan- 
gered by  the  parsimony,  indifference  or  cruelty  of 
ship-owners  or  of  persons  in  immediate  authority  on 
shipboard  ;  and  that  in  case  of  illness  or  disability, 
humane  and  skilful  treatment  is  provided.  The  high 
seas  passed  over,  the  coasts  approached,  and  the 
harbors  entered  should  be  freed  from  those  dan- 
gers which  science  can  remove  or,  failing  that,  these 
should  be  so  clearly  distinguished  as  to  minimize  all 
chances  of  accident ;  robberies,  piracies,  and  general 
crimes  should  be  detected  and  punished  ;  and,  in  the 
event  of  casualties,  permanent  and  ample  provision 
should  be  made  for  the  safety  of  the  lives  and  of 
the  cargoes  thus  imperilled.  All  these  details  may 
be  grouped  in  three  classes  :  First,  those  which  ap- 
ply to  merchant  vessels  only,  viz.,  the  enrolment, 
registry,  and  license  of  vessels  and  their  inspection, 
measurement,  and  survey  ;  the  examination  and  en- 
gagement of  officers  and  the  shipment  and  certifica- 


144  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

tion  of  seamen  ;  and  the  preservation  of  the  health 
of  crews  afloat.  Secondly,  those  which  affect  equally 
merchant  and  naval  shipping,  viz.,  the  survey  of 
oceans,  coasts,  harbors,  and  inland  navigable  waters ; 
the  service  of  light-houses,  light-ships,  beacons,  and 
buoys  ;  the  general  laws  governing  pilotage  ;  and 
the  life-saving  service.  Thirdly,  that  one  condition 
which  is  purely  naval  in  its  demands,  viz.,  the  police 
of  the  high  seas  and  of  tide  and  inland  waters. 

These  duties  are  strictly  maritime  ;  in  two  of  the 
classes  the  demands  of  naval  administration  are 
clearly  evident  ;  and  in  the  remaining  one  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  similar  control  are  no  less  potent. 
At  present  the  enrolment,  registry,  and  license  of  ves- 
sels belong  to  the  Register  of  the  Treasury,  with  the 
regular  work  of  whose  office  they  have  no  connec- 
tion save  that  arising  from  the  fact  that  such  an  of- 
ficial may  be  a  properly  constituted  person  to  register 
everything  from  bonds  to  barnacles ;  with  equal 
propriety,  however,  it  might  be  assumed  that  the 
duty  would  fall  within  the  province  of  an  election 
bureau,  because  it  enrolls  voters,  or  be  entrusted  to 
the  mayor's  deputy  because  he  licenses  dogs  for  the 
summer  months.  The  inspection  of  steam  vessels 
also  draws  its  inspiration  from  one  of  the  heads  of 
the  Treasury  Hydra,  why,  no  one  seems  clearly  to 
know.  This  inspection  service  consists  of  a  super- 
vising inspector  general ;  of  supervising  inspec- 
tors ;  of  inspectors  of  foreign  vessels,  and  of  local 
inspectors.  It  is  more  or  less  abused  as  a  very  close 
corporation,  and  is  said  by  competent  authority  to 
further  the  interests  entrusted  to  it  by  a  star-cham- 
ber process,  which  culminates  in  its  reporting  to 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.      145 

and  legislating  for  itself.  Each  district  has  a  num- 
ber of  local  boards  made  up  of  an  inspector  of 
hulls  and  an  inspector  of  boilers.  The  former  is 
required  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  structure  of 
ships,  the  accommodations  for  passengers  and  crew, 
the  completeness  of  equipment  for  saving  life  and 
for  extinguishing  fire,  and  the  sufficiency  of  anchors 
and  cables.  The  latter  must  inquire  into  the  safety  of 
boilers  and  engines,  including  everything  which  per- 
tains to  steam  machinery.  Acting  as  a  board,  the 
two  inspectors  examine  the  qualifications  of  masters, 
chief  mates,  engineers  and  pilots  of  steam  vessels, 
and  upon  their  favorable  report  licenses  for  the 
term  of  one  year  are  issued.  They  receive  from  li- 
censed officers  the  reports  of  all  accidents,  and  they 
investigate  charges  of  incompetency  or  of  neglect 
against  such  officers,  having  power  to  summon  wit- 
nesses and,  upon  proof  of  misbehavior,  negligence,  or 
unskilfulness,  to  suspend  or  revoke  licenses.  These 
are  very  important  duties  and  require  special  quali- 
fications— to  determine  which  there  is  a  board  con- 
sisting of  a  supervising  inspector,  a  collector  of  cus- 
toms and — a  DISTRICT  JUDGE. 

The  shipping  of  seamen  is  under  the  direction  of 
commissioners  whose  duties  are  prescribed  in  the 
statutes  of  the  country.  It  is  a  matter  of  record 
that  these  officials,  even  with  the  best  intentions,  are 
unable  to  overcome  the  difficulties  which  beset  their 
duties.  So  far  as  any  guarantees  of  capacity  go,  the 
crews  of  all  vessels  and  the  officers  serving  in  any 
sea-going  craft,  except  in  steamers,  are  without  the 
least  control.  Marine  Insurance  Companies  and  the 
American  Ship  Masters'  Association  of  the  Port  of 


146  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

New  York  have  endeavored  to  correct  the  lack  of 
training  and  experience  in  officers  by  providing  lim- 
itations, but  unavailingly ;  and  to-day  the  lives  and 
cargoes  of  our  citizens  are  entrusted  to  pseudo-ma- 
riners whose  qualifications  rest  upon  their  relation- 
ship to  the  master,  owner,  or  other  interested  person. 
No  examinations  are  required,  and  we  are  forced  to 
trust  our  lives  and  property  to  so  many  incompe- 
tent merchant  officers,  because  of  our  theory  that 
the  interests  of  an  owner  are  so  important  that  he 
will  not  submit  them  to  any  risk.  But  this  covers 
neither  the  insurer  nor  the  passenger,  and  the  melan- 
choly roll  of  American  wrecks  proves  upon  what  an 
unstable  foundation  this  claim  rests.  The  control  of 
the  commissioners  over  the  seamen  is  only  less  than 
that  of  the  Government  over  these  officials  themselves, 
for  they  are  not  directly  connected  with  any  executive 
department,  and  are  appointed  by  those  hardy  tars 
and  expert  mariners — the  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

The  organization  for  the  care  of  sick  and  disabled 
seamen,  with  its  numerous  and  spacious  hospitals, 
and  its  large  corps  of  surgeons,  is  known  as  the  Ma- 
rine Hospital  Service,  and  is  in  charge  of  a  bureau 
of  the  Treasury  Department ;  it  is  supported  chiefly 
by  a  monthly  tax  of  forty  cents  on  the  wages  of  all 
seamen,  and  is  administered  by  surgeons  whose  ap- 
pointments come  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Naval  seamen  are  cared  for  by  another  department 
and  by  a  separate  corps  of  practitioners,  who  pass 
competitive  examinations  for  their  positions ;  in 
some  places  there  are  duplicate  hospitals,  marine  and 
naval,  usually  large  buildings  intended  for  the  maxi- 
mum demands  which  war  or  pestilence  may  make  ; 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.     147 

in  one  instance,  at  least,  two  of  these  edifices  occupy 
adjoining  grounds,  and  with  a  divided  duty,  and 
more  or  less  deprecation  of  each  other's  usefulness, 
stare  one  another  out  of  countenance — vacantly. 
Sea  Hygiene  has  a  place,  and  an  important  one,  in 
the  modern  scientific  world,  and  notable  and  most 
useful  contributions  have  been  made  to  it  by  our 
naval  officers.  The  excellent  sanitary  conditions  of 
men-of-war  at  this  date  are  due  to  the  intelligent 
study  and  zeal  of  our  surgeons,  and  nowhere  are 
there  officials  better  qualified  to  bring  the  standard  of 
merchant  ships  to  the  plane  which  our  civilization 
demands.  Their  appreciation  of  the  physical  needs 
of  seafaring  people  has  been  gained  on  shipboard, 
and  though  their  fight  against  wet  decks,  insuffi- 
cient and  badly  cooked  food  and  defective  ventilation 
has  been  a  bitter  one,  yet  the  victory  happily  is  with 
them  now.  It  is  generally  believed  that  the  sphere 
of  experience  of  the  surgeons  of  the  Marine  Hospital 
Service  is,  perforce  of  circumstances,  a  limited  one, 
and  that  like  our  naval  constructors,  they  have  never 
studied  that  special  part  of  their  profession  which 
their  appointments  require,  in  the  only  place  where  it 
can  be  properly  learned — at  sea  with  a  sailor  dientelle. 
All  these  duties  are  maritime,  and  should  be  gath- 
ered and  welded  together  in  order  that  they  may  ac- 
quire coherency  and  efficiency.  The  control  should 
be  given  to  a  central  department,  maritime  in  its 
character ;  and  for  its  special  administration  a  Bureau 
of  Maritime  Marine  should  be  created,  relegating 
the  Marine  Hospital  Service  to  the  care  of  the  Naval 
Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery.  Congressional 
action  should  then  take  this  form  :  First,  the  trans- 


148  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

fer  to  the  Navy  Department  of  all  the  duties  in  re- 
lation to  the  registry,  enrolment  and  license  of  ves- 
sels, the  regulation  of  steam  vessels,  and  the  ship- 
ment of  seamen.  Secondly,  the  creation  of  a  Bureau 
of  Mercantile  Marine  which  shall  administer  the 
above  ;  and,  Thirdly,  the  passage  of  a  general  law 
as  similar  to  the  British  Merchant  Act  as  the  differ- 
ences of  our  institutions  and  the  requirement  of  the 
foregoing  provisions  will  admit.  House  Bill  No. 
7158  (1883)  provided  for  the  first  two  of  these.  The 
general  control  was  given  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  who  was  to  be  assisted  by  a  board  to  be  known 
as  the  Mercantile  Marine  Board,  and  to  be  com- 
posed of  the  following  persons  :  The  chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Mercantile  Marine  and  the  supervising 
inspector  general  of  steamboats,  ex  officio ;  five  civ- 
ilians to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  among  whom 
there  were  to  be  one  experienced  seaman  and  navi- 
gator, one  shipbuilder,  skilled  in  designing  and  con- 
structing vessels  of  wood  and  iron,  one  scientific 
man  of  eminent  attainments,  and  two  persons  of  spe- 
cial experience  in  commercial  and  maritime  affairs ; 
and  finally  three  officers  of  the  navy,  likewise  to  be 
appointed  by  the  President,  one  of  whom  was  to  be 
a  naval  constructor,  one  a  chief  engineer,  and  one  a 
line  officer,  the  last  named  to  act  as  secretary  of  the 
Board.  Sections  u  and  12  prescribed  the  duties  of 
this  Board  as  follows  :  To  consider  and  investigate  the 
condition  of  the  mercantile  marine,  and  to  advise  and 
assist  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  making  rules  and 
regulations  for  executing  the  laws  in  relation  to  it; 
and  to  report  the  results  of  its  investigations  to  Con- 
gress. Section  3  established  the  Bureau  of  Mercantile 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.      149 

Marine  and  entrusted  it  with  the  various  duties  enu- 
merated before  ;  contracting  them  in  some  particu- 
lars and  amplifying  them  in  others.  One  notable 
change  was  the  appointment  of  an  additional  inspec- 
tor of  vessels,  who  was  to  report  upon  the  strength 
and  sufficiency  of  the  equipment,  and  the  complete- 
ness and  efficiency  of  the  navigating  instruments  and 
charts  ;  and  to  examine  into  the  fitness  of  master, 
mate,  or  pilot  of  any  vessel.  In  addition  to  the  duties 
already  defined,  the  Bureau  was  to  have  charge  of 
the  regulations  governing  the  safety  of  ships  and 
the  prevention  of  accidents  ;  the  draught  of  water  and 
the  location  of  load  water  lines  ;  the  heights  of  free- 
board ;  the  running  lights,  the  fog-signals,  and  the 
rules  of  the  road  at  sea  ;  the  provisions,  health,  and 
accommodations  of  passengers  and  crews  ;  the  pro- 
tection of  seamen  from  impositions  ;  the  misconduct 
of  passengers  ;  and  all  inquiries  into  wrecks,  casual- 
ties, and  salvage.  A  Registrar  General  of  Seamen 
was  to  compile  and  preserve  all  records  relating  to 
the  qualifications  and  service  of  officers,  seamen,  and 
apprentices,  and  to  provide  for  examinations,  for  the 
granting  of  certificates,  and  for  the  making  of  ap- 
prenticeships. In  order  to  carry  out  the  details  of 
the  Bureau  it  was  proposed  that  Local  Marine  Offices 
should  be  established,  where  should  be  kept  the 
records  of  sales,  transfers,  and  hypothecations  of  ves- 
sels ;  seamen  were  to  be  shipped  and  discharged 
there,  as  in  England,  without  any  charge  ;  and  the 
local  boards  of  inspection  were  to  keep  their  records 
and  to  hold  their  investigations,  and  all  officers  were 
to  be  examined  in  the  same  place.  In  brief,  these 
offices,  in  every  shipping  town  of  any  size,  were  to  be 


150  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

to  the  sailor  and  the  ship-owner  what  the  custom- 
house is,  or  ought  to  be,  to  the  merchant  and  broker. 
Few  words  are  necessary  to  show  the  advantages 
which  would  accrue  from  the  transfer  to  the  Navy 
Department  of  the  duties  grouped  above  in  the  sec- 
ond class  as  partly  naval  and  partly  mercantile.  At 
present  the  Coast  Survey  is  nominally  a  bureau  in 
the  Treasury  Department.  "Its  primary  object,  as 
expressed  in  the  Statute  (Revised  Statutes,  Section 
4681),  is  to  cause  a  survey  to  be  taken  of  the 
coasts  of  the  United  States,  in  which  shall  be  desig: 
nated  the  islands  and  shoals,  with  the  roads  or  places 
of  anchorage,  within  twenty  leagues  of  any  part  of 
the  shores  of  the  United  States."  Subsequent  legis- 
lation extended  its  operations  to  parts  of  the  ocean 
beyond  the  original  limit,  and  provided  for  deep- 
sea  soundings,  current  observations,  and  for  a  hydro- 
graphic  development  of  the  dangers  of  ocean  navi- 
gation on  the  west  coast  of  North  America.  There 
are,  at  present,  eleven  vessels  in  commission  in  this 
service,  eight  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  and 
three  on  the  Pacific  coast ;  six  of  these  are  steamers 
and  the  remainder  are  schooners.  In  this  service 
sixty-one  naval  officers  and  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  seamen  are  employed,  continuing  that  policy 
which  for  fifty  years  has  given  the  hydrography  of 
our  coast  to  the  trained  officers  of  the  navy  ;  of  the 
officers  now  on  the  active  list  two  hundred  and 
thirty-two  have  been  on  the  survey  at  different  times 
and  with  excellent  results  to  both.  Marine  survey- 
ing, and  the  preparation  and  distribution  of  charts 
and  sailing  directions,  are  duties  which  naturally  fall 
within  the  scope  of  a  naval  establishment,  and  to- 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.      151 

« 

day  not  only  is  the  Hydrographic  Office  of  the 
Naval  Bureau  of  Navigation  exercising  these  func- 
tions, but  the  actual  work  on  the  coast  is  performed 
by  naval  officers,  and  one-third  of  the  total  cost  of 
the  whole  survey  is  borne  by  naval  appropriations. 
Its  connection  with  the  Treasury  is  of  the  most  re- 
mote character,  and  no  good  reason  can  be  given  for 
a  separation  of  duty  and  authority  which  would  be 
mutually  enhanced  by  consolidation.  In  any  event 
its  present  position  is  an  anomaly ;  for  if  topographi- 
cal work  be  the  main  duty,  this  should  be  relegated 
to  a  bureau  of  the  Interior  Department,  which  should 
have  general  charge  of  all  surveys  on  land  ;  while 
the  sea  and  coast  work  proper  should  be  placed 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  Hydrographic  Office 
of  the  Navy.  Our  surveys  are  admirable  in  charac- 
ter, but  are  entrusted  to  no  less  than  four  different 
Departments  of  the  General  Government,  the  opera- 
tions of  which  are  continually  overlapping.  A  broad 
generalization  would  give  all  topography  to  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior,  and  all  hydrography  to 
that  of  the  Navy.  This  would  abolish  the  Coast 
Survey  in  its  present  form,  and  limit  Army  duty  to 
its  legitimate  sphere,  and  with  the  advantage  of  con- 
solidating the  work  to  be  done. 

The  Light-House  Board  has  charge  not  only  of 
light-houses,  but  of  the  establishment  and  care  of 
all  other  aids  to  navigation — light-ships,  beacons, 
buoys,  fog-signals,  and  sea  marks.  It  is  under  the 
Treasury  Department,  and  is  administered  by  a 
board  of  nine  members  :  three  officers  of  the  navy, 
three  officers  of  the  corps  of  engineers  of  the  army, 
and  three  civilians,  one  of  whom  must  be  the  Secre- 


152  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

tary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  remaining  two  per- 
sons of  high  scientific  attainments.  Its  original  as- 
signment is  explained  by  the  fact  that  at  that  time 
the  Navy  Department  did  not  exist.  For  some 
years  it  was  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  Revenue,  and  afterward  of  the 
Fifth  Auditor,  but  the  defects  of  both  plans  led  to 
the  formation,  mainly  through  the  exertions  of  naval 
officers,  of  the  present  Board.  There  are  fourteen 
light-house  districts  :  six  on  the  Atlantic,  two  on 
the  Gulf,  and  four  on  the  Pacific  coast ;  along  the 
Great  Lakes  there  are  two  ;  and  there  is  one  on  the 
Ohio  River,  and  one  which  extends  from  the  head  of 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  of  the  Missouri  to 
New  Orleans.  The  report  for  1883  shows  that  the 
Government  owns  : 

Light-houses , 723 

Light-ships 30 

Fog-signals  operated  by  steam  or  hot  air 64 

Fog-bells  operated  by  machinery 115 

Beacon  lights  on  Western  rivers . . .- 860 

Day  or  unlighted  beacons 345 

Automatic  whistling  buoys 33 

Automatic  bell-buoys 14 

Other  buoys, 3>377 

Steam  tenders 22 

Steam  launches 4 

Sailing  tenders 2 

Light  keepers,  including  laborers,  in  charge  of  Western  river 

lights 1, 769 

Other  employes,  including  crews  of  light-ships  and  tenders . .     686 

The  appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year,  were  : 

For  the  establishment $2,249,000 

For  light-houses,  fog-signals,  etc 500,000 

Total $2,749,000 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.     153 

These  lights  are  divided  into  seven  classes,  with 
an  intermediate  class  between  the  third  and  fourth, 
and  two  others  known  as  lantern  and  lens  divisions. 
Each  district  is  under  the  personal  charge  and  super- 
intendence of  a  naval  officer,  detailed  exclusively  for 
this  duty ;  in  three  of  the  districts  there  are  also  naval 
officers  employed  as  assistants  ;  and  three  more  are 
members  of  the  Board  in  Washington,  one  of  these 
being  chairman  and  the  other  naval  secretary.  The 
army  officers,  apart  from  those  on  the  Board,  have 
supervision  only  of  the  erection  and  repair  of  build- 
ings and  apparatus,  most  of  this  being  performed 
incidentally  and  in  addition  to  their  regular  duties 
under  the  War  Department.  As  this  service  is  alto- 
gether maritime  in  its  character,  and  so  largely 
naval  in  its  administration,  there  seems  no  reason 
why  its  transfer  should  not  be  made  to  the  Navy 
Department. 

The  statutes  of  the  United  States  authorize  the 
several  States  to  make  their  own  pilotage  laws,  the 
general  government  surrendering  nearly  all  of  its 
supervising  power.  In  Maine  and  New  Hampshire 
pilots  are  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  ship-owners  and 
ship-masters  of  any  port.  In  Massachusetts,  commis- 
sioners license  them,  except  for  the  ports  of  Boston 
and  New  Bedford,  where  the  power  of  appointment 
rests  finally  with  the  Governor.  In  the  port  of 
New  York,  two  boards  have  concurrent  jurisdiction, 
one  known  as  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Pilot- 
age, and  consisting  of  three  commissioners  chosen  by 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  two  by  the  Board  of 
Underwriters  of  the  City  of  New  York ;  and  the  other 


154  THE   QUESTION   OF    SHIPS. 

made  up  of  seven  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
Governor  of  New  Jersey  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  State  Senate  ;  each  of  these  boards  has  power 
to  license  its  own  pilots  and  is  given  all  authority 
over  them.  In  Pennsylvania,  pilots  are  selected  by  a 
board  of  wardens  ;  in  Maryland,  by  an  examining 
board,  and  in  Alabama  and  Louisiana,  by  the  harbor 
masters  and  port  wardens.  These  plans  are  practical- 
ly the  same,  and  there  are  no  objections  to  them  under 
our  theory  of  government,  but  some  general  juris- 
diction over  pilotage  boards  should  belong  to  the 
nation.  Salutary  laws,  looking  to  the  interests  of 
all  classes  of  citizens,  should  be  passed.  Compul- 
sory pilotage  should  be  kept  within  those  proper 
limits  which,  while  not  unduly  burdening  owners 
and  shippers,  protect  the  lives  of  passengers  and 
crews,  and  supply  the  incentive  for  zeal,  courage, 
and  sacrifice  upon  the  part  of  the  pilots.  All  fees 
ought  to  be  based  upon  a  reasonable  law  which  gives 
adequate  compensation  for  the  risks  assumed,  and 
does  not  create  a  crushing  monopoly  that  drives  ship- 
ping from  our  ports.  Masters  and  mates  who  can 
pass  the  proper  examinations  should  receive  pilot  cer- 
tificates, granted  upon  conditions  which  can  be  easily 
formulated,  and  each  district  should  be  compelled  to 
make  returns  of  the  regulations  and  ordinances  un- 
der which  it  works,  including  a  full  description  of 
its  pilots  and  apprentices,  with  the  character  of  the 
services  for  which  each  is  licensed,  the  rates  of  pi- 
lotage in  force,  and  the  total  amount  of  money  re- 
ceived— in  this  last  distinguishing  between  the 
charges  upon  American  and  foreign  ships,  respec- 
tively. Nothing  of  this  is  mentioned  in  the  Report 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.      155 

of  the  Secretary,  but  it  seems  a  part  of  the  general 
plan,  and  would  naturally  be  entrusted  to  the  Navi- 
gation Bureau  of  the  Navy  Department.  The  Life- 
saving  Service  is  under  the  direction  of  a  bureau  in 
the  Treasury  Department,  and  as  its  general  duties 
are  administered  by  officers  of  the  Revenue  Marine, 
the  reasons  for  its  transfer  will  follow  those  affecting 
that  service. 

The  third  class  of  the  general  group  is  that  which 
performs  duties  purely  naval,  viz.,  the  police  of  the 
high  seas  and  of  tide  and  inland  waters.  This  is  the 
province  of  the  Navy  and  of  the  Revenue  Marine. 
The  last  named  service  is  controlled  by  a  Treasury 
Bureau,  and  requires,  to  maintain  its  efficiency,  185 
officers  and  36  vessels  ;  23  of  the  latter  are  sea- 
going steamers,  fifteen  being  propellers  varying  from 
131  to  403  tons,  and  eight  paddlers  varying  from 
201  to  499  tons.  Its  working  limits  are  harbor  and 
coast  cruising,  and  in  addition  to  preventing  infrac- 
tions of  customs  laws,  assisting  in  collecting  the 
revenue,  and  aiding  distressed  vessels,  it  performs 
those  duties  of  police  along  the  coast  which  the  navy 
exercises  on  the  high  seas  and  in  foreign  waters. 
The  crews  are  armed  ;  the  cutters  carry  from  one  to 
four  guns,  and  in  war  are  always  pressed  into  the 
naval  service.  The  present  separation  is  an  absur- 
dity, and  by  the  proposed  transfer  to  the  Navy  De- 
partment mutual  benefit  will  result.  The  Revenue 
Marine  will  gain  in  every  way,  by  its  connection 
with  a  department  which  is  administering  mari- 
time affairs  on  a  large  plan  and  is  looking,  not  to 
the  personal  aggrandizement  of  a  few  officials,  but 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  Government ;  it  will  de- 


156  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

rive  all  the  benefits  which  enhanced  experience,  in- 
telligence, and  zeal  can  yield  ;  the  standard  of  its 
officers  will  be  raised  by  the  discipline  and  routine 
enforced  through  naval  methods  ;  and  their  possi- 
bilities of  usefulness  will  be  increased  by  making 
them  a  part  of  a  permanent  body  in  which  their 
commissions  will  be  insured  against  the  operations 
either  of  malice  or  of  favoritism,  and  their  services 
will  be  rewarded  by  dignified  offices  of  retirement 
at  an  age  when  duty  well  done  deserves  the  grace- 
ful recognition  of  a  grateful  country. 

The  transfer  will  benefit  the  navy  by  opening  to  its 
junior  officers  a  new  school  of  experience  which  will 
thus  inure  them  to  the  dangers  and  teach  them  the 
necessities  of  our  coast  at  their  most  plastic  age  men- 
tally, and  when  their  resources  physically,  actual  and 
in  reserve,  are  greatest ;  it  will  give  them  that  famil- 
iarity with  the  coast  and  harbors  which  is  so  essen- 
tial in  war  and  peace  ;  and  thus  increase  their  mari- 
time usefulness  by  making  them  better  surveyors 
and  light-house  inspectors  of  the  future  ;  finally,  it 
will  give  them  practice  in  handling  vessels  of  the 
smallest  sizes  under  difficult  circumstances,  and  pro- 
vide in  every  way  a  field  of  training  which  will  make 
them  better  naval  officers. 

It  utilizes  for  the  country  a  personnel  that  must 
be  kept  at  a  high  standard,  and  economically  and 
most  efficiently  employs  the  services  of  officers  in 
a  sphere  which  by  their  training  they  are  in  every 
way  qualified  to  occupy — and  this  under  a  general 
control  which  is  the  life  of  all  organization.  The 
transfer  would  not  interfere  in  any  way  with  the 
present  officers  of  the  Revenue  Marine,  for  they 


UNION  OF  NAVY  AND  MERCHANT  MARINE.  1 57 

would  retain  their  duties  until  in  the  course  of  years 
a  policy  of  absorption  resulted  in  making  the  service 
wholly  naval.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  bill  intro- 
duced last  year,  no  officer  in  the  Revenue  Marine 
could  ever  be  placed  under  the  command  of  a  naval 
officer,  nor  be  ranked  in  his  present  sphere  of  duties 
by  any  such  person  ;  for  it  was  explicitly  guaranteed 
that  vacancies  in  the  upper  grades  were  to  be  filled  by 
promotion  from  the  lower  grades  in  the  corps,  and 
that  naval  officers  could  be  detailed  for  duty  only  as 
vacancies  were  made  at  the  bottom  of  the  list.  To 
harmonize  all  the  interests  it  was  proposed  to  trans- 
fer the  service  to  the  Navy ;  the  small  vessels  em- 
ployed in  harbors  to  belong  to  the  Treasury,  and  the 
larger  ones  to  be  assigned  to  duty,  as  at  present, 
upon  the  requisition  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, their  movements  in  each  district  being  directed 
for  the  time  being  by  the  collector  of  customs. 

The  result  of  all  these  changes  would  have  been  the 
creation  of  two  new  bureaus  in  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, the  amplification  of  the  duties  of  two  bureaus 
already  existing,  and  the  passage  of  a  general  act 
based  upon  the  necessities  of  our  shipping.  Opposi- 
tion was  evoked,  mainly  by  small  bodies  of  interested 
officials,  though,  to  some  degree  also,  by  the  igno- 
rance of  our  citizens  in  regard  to  the  questions  at 
issue, — and  the  measure  failed.  But  dispassionate 
examination  will  do  much  to  correct  this,  and  will 
show  the  necessity  of  the  reforms  proposed  and  of 
immediate  action  ;  for  the  demands  formulated  here 
are  founded  upon  justice  and  intelligence,  and  are 
for  the  general  good  of  the  whole  country. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE    CASE    BRIEFLY    STATED. 

IF  the  arguments  advanced  in  the  preceding  pages 
are  correct,  the  restoration  of  our  merchant  marine, 
its  efficient  conduct,  and  its  central  administration 
are  matters  mainly  of  intelligent  legislation.  Apart 
from  special  beliefs,  it  seems  but  fair  to  assume  that 
all  who  have  examined  the  subject  concede  that 
these  things  should  be  done.  This  being  granted, 
nothing  remains  but  to  recapitulate  the  facts  already 
set  forth,  in  order  to  emphasize  the  reasons  why  it 
is  believed  that  the  special  plan  proposed  in  this 
book  should  be  adopted. 

Briefly,  then,  it  seems  to  be  certain  that  ships  are 
profitable  abroad,  and  can  be  made  profitable  here. 
We  were  a  great  maritime  people  and,  by  the  position 
we  assumed,  proved  incontestably  that  of  all  compet- 
ing nations  we  possessed  most  fully  those  qualities 
essential  to  maritime  success,  viz.,  national  instinct, 
and  necessities  of  environment  in  land  population 
and  geographical  position.  Our  commerce  had  gone 
to  the  very  fore-front  of  man's  adventure  on  the  high 
seas  ;  then  paused,  retreated,  and  finally  almost  per- 
ished. This  decadence,  however,  was  not  due,  as  is 
generally  claimed,  to  the  war  between  the  States  in 
1861,  to  the  revival  of  a  general  prosperity  which 
left  no  money  for  investment  in  shipping,  to  the 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  159 

fluctuations  of  an  unstable  currency,  or  to  that  un- 
holy trinity  of  British  gold,  a  hireling  press,  and  a 
foreign  insurance  ring  which  so  vexes  certain  doc- 
trinaires ;  but  had  its  origin^  purely,  in  those  changes 
which  commerce  theories  demanded,  and  which  we 
failed  to  adopt,  videlicet,  the  substitution  of  steam 
for  sail,  the  use  of  iron  in  place  of  wood  for  ship- 
building, the  antiquated  navigation  laws  of  this 
country,  and  the  burdensome  National  and  State 
taxes. 

Subsidies  will  not  correct  these  evils,  for  they  have 
been  tried  and  found  wanting,  and  the  great  foreign 
trades  have  been  established  not  by  a  grant  of  public 
money  to  a  favored  few,  but  by  the  liberalization  of 
the  world's  commerce  to  the  bold  essay  of  free  men 
in  free  ships.  To  regain  our  position,  to  hope  even 
for  a  share  of  our  legitimate  carrying  trade,  we  must 
in  the  beginning  adopt  certain  measures  of  reform. 
These  are  :  First,  the  admission  to  American  regis- 
ter of  all  ships  over  3,000  tons,  subject  to  the  same 
laws  regarding  ownership  which  now  prevail,  save  in 
one  or  two  important  particulars.  Secondly,  the  ad- 
mission duty  free  of  all  materials  to  be  used  in  the 
construction  and  repair  of  vessels  of  over  3,000  tons. 
Thirdly,  the  adoption  of  new  tonnage  measurements, 
based  on  actual  carrying  capacity,  and  excluding  the 
space  occupied  by  engines  and  boilers,  and  accom- 
modations for  officers  and  crew.  Fourthly,  exemp- 
tion from  taxation,  local  and  national,  on  all  vessels 
engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  for  more  than  eight 
months  of  the  year.  Fifthly,  permission  for  all  Amer- 
ican vessels  in  the  foreign  trade  to  take  their  stores 
and  shipchandlery  out  of  bond  duty  free.  Sixthly, 


l6o  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

a  general  revision  of  the  laws  relating  to  seamen  and 
the  consular  service.  Seventhly,  individual  liability 
as  to  ownership.  Eighthly,  a  general  and  equitable 
postal  bill,  with  fair  compensation  for  carrying  the 
mails  ;  and,  Ninthly,  a  change  in  the  pilot  laws — 
modifying  compulsory  pilotage  and  permitting  mas- 
ters and  mates,  when  properly  qualified,  to  pilot 
their  own  vessels. 

Owning  a  profitable  trade  and  free  ships,  we  must 
manage  it  with  a  good  personnel,  for  ignorance,  care- 
lessness, or  dishonesty  are  the  most  fruitful  sources 
of  marine  disasters.  The  percentage  of  American 
wreckages  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  nation, 
and  we  must  expect  to  maintain  that  proud  eminence 
as  long  as  we  are  absolutely  without  any  guarantees 
as  to  the  capacity  of  our  foreign-going  and  home  sea- 
faring people.  France,  Italy,  Russia,  the  North 
Countries,  and  Great  Britain,  all  have  plans  of  some 
kind  ;  but  none  of  these  seems  so  well  suited  to  our 
necessities,  nor  so  little  antagonistic  to  our  national 
genius  and  instinct,  as  that  of  England.  It  is  prac- 
tical enough  not  to  hamper  individual  effort,  and 
yet  so  theoretical  that  the  mere  rule-of-thumb  mari- 
ner cannot,  as  he  should  not,  be  entrusted  with  in- 
terests which,  humanly  and  commercially  considered, 
are  of  enormous  magnitude.  There  are  examinations 
for  officers  and  certifications  for  seamen,  and  the 
whole  conduct  of  merchant  shipping  is  controlled  by 
a  wise  and  general  law.  To  supply  the  annual  losses 
of  the  merchant  marine  there  must  be  various 
sources  of  supply,  one  of  which,  at  least,  should  be 
a  nucleus  of  intelligence  around  which  the  brawn  and 
muscle  can  rally.  To  give  this  training  there  are  in 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  l6l 

England  nineteen  ships,  seventeen  for  seamen  and 
two  for  officers,  and,  theorists  to  the  contrary,  the 
annual  entrance  into  service  afloat  of  the  pupils  of 
these  schools  has  resulted  in  most  pronounced  good. 
Starting  out  fairly  on  a  commercial  enterprise,  well 
found,  well  manned,  and  insured  against  unjust  dis- 
criminations at  home  and  abroad,  vessels  must  have 
protection  from  foreign  enemies  and  rivals.  Hence 
there  must  be  war  ships  to  watch  the  commercial  in- 
terests of  a  country.  The  first  duty  of  a  navy  is  the 
defence  of  its  coasts  at  home,  and  of  its  citizens 
abroad  ;  the  next  is.the  protection  of  its  commerce; 
and  the  third  is  the  police  and  survey  of  its  own 
shores  and  of  the  high  seas  in  the  general  cause  of 
humanity.  But  the  economical  demands  of  our 
country  forbid  the  navy  being  maintained  at  a  war 
standard,  hence  there  must  be  a  reserve  of  ships  and 
of  men  from  which  aid  can  be  drawn.  A  revived 
commerce  means  a  revived  and  effective  ship-build- 
ing plant,  and  a  large  merchant  marine  supplies  that 
potential  reserve,  upon  which  the  integrity  of  the 
country,  so  far  as  sea  defences  go,  mainly  depends. 

Finally,  to  administer  all  these  various  relations 
there  must  be  a  central  bureau.  Ships  must  ever 
carry  the  declaration  of  some  national  supervision 
over  them,  both  as  a  protection  to  the  owners  as 
well  as  a  warning  to  foreigners.  They  must  have 
the  imprimatur  of  some  State  that  they  are  worthy 
the  hire  of  those  who  seek  transportation  for  them- 
selves or  for  their  goods  upon  the  high  seas  ;  and 
they  must  be  forced,  for  the  general  welfare  of  the 
nation,  at  least,  to  carry  competent  crews  and  to 
guard  the  health  of  all  who  manage  or  sail  in  them. 
ii 


162  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

These  duties  are  maritime,  and  should  be  entrusted 
to  some  bureau  or  department  which  shares  this  dis- 
tinctive character  with  them.  There  seems  no  ques- 
tion but  that  to  the  Navy  Department  these  func- 
tions should  be  relegated,  not  only  for  reasons  of 
special  efficiency,  but  for  those  of  economy.  In  the 
annual  report  for  1883  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  re- 
asserts the  reasons  given  in  1882  for  the  centraliza- 
tion and  control  of  the  national  work  upon  the 
ocean. 

"  In  the  report  from  this  Department  of  last  year," 
he  writes,  "  it  was  affirmed  as  a  broad  and  salutary 
principle  of  administration,  that  the  officers  and  sea- 
men of  the  Navy  should  be  employed  to  perform  all 
the  work  of  the  national  Government  upon  or  in 
direct  connection  with  the  ocean.  It  was  shown 
that  such  an  extension  of  the  field  of  naval  em- 
ployment would  strengthen  and  invigorate  the 
service  without  any  detriment  to  existing  inter- 
ests, while  the  fusion  of  all  branches  of  nautical  ad- 
ministration would  secure  concentration  of  purpose, 
unity  of  action,  and  broader  and  more  substantial 
results. 

"The  reasoning  upon  which  this  proposition  is 
based  is  simple  and  obvious.  The  United  States 
have  an  ocean  commerce  of  2,500,000  tons  and  a  sea- 
coast  of  10,000  miles.  Though  the  carrying  trade 
has  fallen  largely  into  foreign  hands,  yet  in  maritime 
tonnage  our  country  is  still  the  second,  and  in  extent 
of  coast-line  the  third,  in  the  world.  Upon  our  coast 
lie  more  than  twenty  great  cities,  the  centres  of  dis- 
tribution for  the  products  of  the  interior.  What 
affects  them  affects  the  whole  country.  The  only 


THE   CASE   BRIEFLY   STATED.  163 

safeguard  for  these  important  and  vulnerable  inter- 
ests lies  in  the  Navy.  To  dispense  with  a  navy  would 
be  to  invite  aggression  and  to  insure  disaster. 

"The  Navy,  as  an  arm  of  maritime  defence,  is  there- 
fore a  national  necessity.  It  must  be  maintained 
continuously  for  two  purposes  :  to  avert  war,  by 
making  it  costly  and  dangerous  for  an  opponent ; 
and  to  wage  war,  when  it  cannot  be  averted.  From 
the  nature  of  things,  however,  the  fulfilment  of  these 
purposes  cannot  of  itself  give  the  naval  force  full  and 
continuous  employment.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be 
maintained,  and  maintained  in  a  state  of  efficiency. 
Although  the  contingency  that  will  call  it  into  full 
activity  is  remote,  its  officers  must  always  be  kept  in 
readiness.  If  they  cannot  be,  it  would  be  better,  for 
the  country's  interest  as  well  as  for  their  own,  that 
they  should  be  disbanded. 

"  There  is  only  one  way  in  which  the  people  can 
assure  themselves  that  their  Navy  shall  be  always 
thus  prepared  for  service.  It  must  be  constantly 
occupied  to  the  full  measure  of  its  capacity  ;  its  oc- 
cupations must  be  directly  in  the  line  of  its  profes- 
sion ;  and  they  must  be  carried  on  under  the  super- 
vision of  that  Department  which  is  responsible  for 
its  efficiency  and  discipline.  If  it  were  necessary,  in 
order  to  effect  this,  that  new  work  should  be  devised 
for  the  Navy  to  do,  the  result  would  be  sufficiently 
important  to  warrant  the  undertaking.  But  it  is  not 
necessary.  The  Government  is  to-day  performing, 
by  Yneans  of  other  officials  and  other  establishments, 
work  which,  in  its  general  professional  character  and 
in  the  professional  training  required,  is  indistinguish- 
able from  that  of  the  Navy  itself.  A  sound  policy 


1 64  THE  QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

demands  that  in  it  the  Navy  should  be  utilized,  oc- 
cupied, and  practised. 

"  This  nautical  work  now  carried  on  by  the  Govern- 
ment outside  of  the  Navy  Department  comprises  the 
surveying  and  lighting  of  the  coast  and  its  adjacent 
islands  ;  the  prohibition  of  illicit  trade,  the  assistance 
of  vessels  in  distress,  and  the  rescue  of  life  and  prop- 
erty from  the  perils  of  the  sea ;  the  inspection  of 
the  hulls  and  boilers  of  merchant  steamers,  with  a 
view  to  their  safe  navigation  ;  and  the  admeasure- 
ment and  registration  of  vessels  and  the  shipment  and 
care  of  seamen  of  the  merchant  marine.  The  meas- 
ures proposed  by  the  Department  consisted  in  the 
application  to  this  unquestionably  nautical  work  of 
the  general  principle  advocated,  and  in  its  extension 
in  the  same  direction  by  an  organized  and  practical 
effort  to  supervise  and  advance  the  interests  of  our 
decayed  merchant  marine. 

"In  applying  the  general  principle  to  the  nautical 
work  within  the  province  of  the  Government,  it  is 
found  that  one  portion,  the  supervision  of  commerce 
by  a  single  branch  of  the  executive,  though  highly 
important  and  desirable,  is  not  in  operation  at  all ; 
that  a  second  portion,  the  shipment  of  seamen,  is 
carried  on  by  subordinate  officials  under  no  execu- 
tive supervision  ;  that  a  third  portion,  the  survey- 
ing and  lighting  of  the  coast,  is  done  almost  wholly 
by  officers  of  the  Navy,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Treasury  Department ;  while  a  fourth  portion,  con- 
sisting of  the  cutter  service,  the  life-saving  service, 
and  the  steamboat  inspection^  is  also  committed  to 
bureaus  in  that  Department,  and  is  performed  by 
officials  connected  therewith.  In  reference  to  the 


THE   CASE  BRIEFLY   STATED.  '  165 

supervision  of  commerce  and  the  shipment  of  sea- 
men, the  question  whether  they  shall  be  directed  by 
any  Department,  and,  if  so,  by  that  of  the  Navy,  is 
one  that  may  be  determined  on  its  merits,  without 
regard  to  existing  relations.  In  reference  to  the 
Coast  Survey,  it  is  clear  that  the  present  arrange- 
ment, by  which  the  direction  and  control  of  a  large 
body  of  naval  officers  and  seamen  are  transferred  to 
the  Treasury  Department,  is  unsuitable,  unnecessary, 
and  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  Government. 
As  to  the  rest  of  the  work,  which  is  now  wholly  car- 
ried on  by  the  same  Department,  while  no  criticism 
is  made  upon  the  integrity  or  efficiency  of  its  admin- 
istration in  any  particular  under  the  system  adopted, 
yet  the  expediency  of  the  system  itself  becomes  a 
general  question  of  national  policy,  which,  not  alone 
in  its  bearing  upon  the  useful  employment  of  the 
Navy,  the  Navy  Department  is  competent  and  is 
called  upon  to  consider. 

"  In  pursuance  of  this  duty,  and  after  careful  in- 
quiry and  mature  reflection,  the  Department,  in  its 
report  of  last  year,  recommended  that  the  Navy 
should  be  employed,  as  far  as  was  possible,  to  per- 
form all  this  maritime  work  ;  and  it  suggested  a  pro- 
cess by  which  the  transfer  might  be  accomplished 
without  any  interruption  of  the  operations  of  the 
Government.  The  views  then  expressed  have  only 
increased  in  strength,  as  added  experience  and  dis- 
cussion have  thrown  new  light  upon  them.  The 
main  points  of  the  argument  are  therefore  restated, 
and  the  recommendations  are  emphatically  renewed. 

"The  Light-House  administration,  charged  with 
the  establishment  and  care  of  aids  to  navigation, 


166  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

including  light-houses,  light-ships,  beacons,  buoys, 
fog-signals  and  sea-marks,  performs  a  work  under 
the  Treasury  Department  which  is  strictly  nautical 
in  character ;  of  which  no  one  but  a  practical  navi- 
gator is  a  competent  judge  ;  which  requires  a  kind 
of  skill  and  experience  that  the  Navy  alone  can 
furnish  ;  and  all  the  essential  parts  of  which,  except- 
ing only  the  erection  and  repair  of  buildings  and 
apparatus,  are  carried  on  at  this  time  by  naval  offi- 
cers. Being  nautical  and  not  fiscal  operations,  they 
should  be  supervised  by  the  Navy  and  not  the  Treas- 
ury Department. 

"  The  Coast  Survey,  originally  established  for  the 
purpose  of  making  hydrographic  charts,  has  of  late 
years  extended  its  functions  in  a  totally  different 
direction,  that  of  geodetic  surveys  in  the  interior. 
In  making  this  extension,  it  has  gradually  aban- 
doned the  water  survey  to  the  Navy,  until  how  the 
actual  work  in  this  field  is  done  almost  exclusively 
by  naval  officers  withdrawn  for  the  purpose  from 
the  direction  and  control  of  their  own  Department. 
By  an  extraordinary  anomaly  in  legislation,  the 
United  States  Hydrographic  Office,  an  indispensable 
branch  of  this  Department,  is  allowed  to  survey  and 
make  charts  of  every  coast  in  the  world  but  that  of 
the  United  States ;  while  the  best  naval  surveyors 
are  claimed  by  another  Department  to  perform  this 
work  under  its  supervision.  Sixty  seven  naval 
officers  are  now  diverted  in  this  manner  from  the 
direction  of  the  Navy ;  and  280  seamen,  out  of  the 
7,500  allowed  to  the  Navy,  are  now  on  board  Coast 
Survey  vessels. 

"  For  such  an  arrangement  there  might  be  some 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY   STATED.  l6/ 

show  of  reason  if  the  work  upon  which  the  officers 
are  engaged  were  specially  connected  with  the 
Department  under  which  they  are  placed,  and  re- 
mote from  the  subjects  of  which  their  own  Depart- 
ment has  cognizance  ;  but,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
no  part  of  this  work  has  the  faintest  traceable  con- 
nection with  the  general  purposes  of  the  Treasury, 
that  its  effectual  performance  is  of  vital  importance 
to  the  Navy,  and  that  an  office  exists  to-day  in  the 
Navy  Department  where  similar  work  is  necessarily 
carried  on,  it  is  inconceivable  why  so  inconvenient, 
artificial,  and  indefensible  an  arrangement  should  be 
perpetuated.  The  existing  office  might  properly 
continue  the  geodetic  work,  which  seems  gradually 
to  be  absorbing  its  attention  and  its  appropriations, 
while  the  hydrographic  surveys  on  our  coast,  now 
performed  by  naval  officers,  under  a  naval  inspector, 
in  the  office  of  the  Geodetic  Survey,  should  be  car- 
ried on,  like  other  hydrographic  surveys,  by  the 
Naval  Hydrographic  Office. 

"  The  duties  of  the  Revenue  Marine,  as  officially 
defined,  consist  in  cruising  for  the  prevention  of 
illicit  trade,  and  for  the  enforcement  of  certain  laws 
applicable  to  shipping,  particularly  those  requiring 
the  registry,  enrollment,  and  license  of  vessels,  com- 
pelling life-saving  appliances  to  be  kept  therein,  the 
name  and  hailing  port  to  be  affixed,  and  lights  to  be 
exhibited  ;  prohibiting  the  overloading  of  passenger 
ships,  assessing  the  Marine-Hospital  tax,  and  aiding 
in  the  quarantine  service  of  the  States.  The  cutters 
further  assist  in  enforcing  the  neutrality  laws,  and 
those  for  the  suppression  of  piracy,  and  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  timber  reserves.  They  are  also  called 


1 68  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

upon  to  prevent  unlawful  traffic  in  rum  and  fire- 
arms in  Alaska  ;  to  protect  the  seal-fisheries,  to  sup- 
press mutinies,  and  extinguish  fires  on  board  mer- 
chant-vessels, and  to  carry  out  the  laws  in  aid  of 
distressed  seamen. 

"  Several  of  these  duties,  such  as  the  enforcement 
of  the  neutrality  laws,  the  suppression  of  piracy,  of 
mutinies  on  board  merchant-vessels,  and  the  like, 
the  ships  of  the  navy  are  now  charged  with,  and  ac- 
tually perform  in  common  with  revenue  vessels.  Of 
the  rest,  there  is  not  one  that  is  foreign  to  the  gen- 
eral purpose  and  scope  of  the  naval  officer's  profes- 
sion. The  only  duty  connected  directly  with  the 
customs  is  that  of  the  seizure  of  smugglers — a  duty 
which  is  precisely  similar  to  the  -naval  officer's  duty 
of  searching  and  seizing,  during  war,  vessels  en- 
gaged in  contraband  trade.  It  requires  a  knowledge 
of  the  statutes  relating  to  the  subject,  a  knowledge 
not  very  difficult  to  acquire  ;  but  beyond  this  noth- 
ing that  is  outside  of  a  naval  officer's  necessary 
training.  The  duties  of  both  services  are  identical 
in  their  general  nature,  only  they  operate  in  differ- 
ent localities.  Both  cruise  to  protect  the  maritime 
interests  of  the  Government,  and  to  rende/  assist- 
ance to  American  vessels — the  one  on  the  coast,  the 
other,  in  addition,  at  sea  and  in  foreign  waters. 
One  polices  the  shore,  the  other  the  ocean.  In  war 
both  engage  in  naval  operations. 

"The  practical  identity  in  the  character  of  the 
Naval  and  the  Revenue  Marine  Services  lies  in  the 
fact  that  they  are  both  nautical  and  both  military. 
That  the  'Revenue  Marine  is  a  nautical  service  re- 
quires no  proof.  It  is  nothing  if  not  nautical.  That 


THE   CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  1 69 

it  is  a  military  service  was  officially  asserted  by  the 
Treasury  Department  in  the  report  on  the  service 
for  1881,  in  these  words  : 

"  '  The  Revenue  Marine,  while  charged  by  law  with 
the  performance  of  important  civil  duties,  is  essen- 
tially military  in  its  character.  Each  vessel  is  pro- 
vided with  great  guns,  and  furnished  with  as  full  a 
complement  of  small  arms  for  its  crew  as  any  ship 
of  war.  Its  officers  are  required  to  be  proficient  in 
military  drill,  and  possess  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  uses  of  both  great  and  small  arms.  Its  crews 
are  required  to  be  instructed  from  day  to  day  at  the 
great  guns  and  in  the  use  of  the  carbine,  pistol,  and 
cutlass.  Commanding  officers  are  required,  while 
boarding  vessels  arriving  in  ports  of  the  United 
States,  in  case  of  the  failure  or  refusal  of  any  such 
vessel,  on  being  hailed,  to  come  to  and  submit  to 
the  proper  inspection  by  an  officer  of  the  service,  to 
fire,  first  across  her  bows  as  a  warning,  and,  in  case 
of  persistent  refusal,  to  resort  to  shot  or  shell  to 
compel  obedience.  In  the  performance  of  this 
work,  they  are  likely  at  any  time  to  receive  injuries, 
and  be  subjected  to  the  same  dangers  in  time  of 
peace  as  the  force  employed  on  naval  vessels. 

" '  By  the  Act  of  March  2,  1799,  it  is  provided  that 
"  the  revenue  cutters  shall,  whenever  the  President 
so  directs,  co-operate  with  the  Navy."  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  co-operation  of  the  two  services  pre- 
scribed in  the  act  above  quoted  is  not  contingent 
upon  a  state  of  war  or  other  particularly  perilous 
conditions.  On  the  contrary,  it  may  take  place  in 
time  of  peace  and  for  pacific  purposes,  and  when 
less  hazard  is  involved  to  the  two  services  than  per- 


1 70  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

tains  to  the  discharge  by  a  revenue  vessel  of  its  or- 
dinary duties.  .  .  .  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  that 
discrimination  could  be  made  by  the  law  between 
services  subjected  to  equally  hazardous  and  dqually 
important  military  duties,  both  in  time  of  peace  and 
in  time  of  war.  .  .  .  Objection  to  granting  pen- 
sions for  the  revenue-marine  officers  and  seamen 
has  been  made,  on  the  ground  that  such  action 
would  be  extending  this  bounty  to  civil  employes  of 
the  Government,  a  policy  to  which  our  legislative 
traditions,  so  to  speak,  are  opposed.  But,  if  in  legal 
theory  they  are  civil  employes,  are  they  so  in  fact  ? 
Are  they  less  positively  a  part  of  our  military  force  in 
time  of  war  than  the  Army  or  Navy  ?  It  is  true,  reve- 
nue vessels  are  not  to  be  ordered  into  action  on  purely 
military  service,  offensive  or  defensive,  except  the 
President  so  direct ;  neither  are  vessels  of  the  Navy.' 

"  The  above  clear  and  precise  statement,  showing 
that  the  so-called  Revenue  Marine  is  simply  a  coast 
navy,  is  without  doubt  correct  and  just,  notwith- 
standing that  the  same  subordinate  in  the  Treasury 
Department  who  formulated  it  for  official  communi- 
cation to  Congress,  now  makes  the  following  asser- 
tion, though  not,  as  it  appears,  with  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  Secretary  : 

"  'The  fact  is,  the  business  of  the  Revenue-Marine 
officer  is  as  distinct  from  that  of  a  naval  officer  as 
one  land  service  is  from  another.  The  military  drill 
and  instruction  of  the  Revenue-Marine  officer  do 
not  necessarily  make  him  a  naval  officer  any  more 
than  the  present  education  of  a  naval  officer  fits  him 
to  manage  vessels  in  harbors  and  along  the  shoal 
waters  of  the  coast.' 


THE   CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  i;i 

"Whether  the  views  put  forth  in  1881,  or  the  ex- 
actly opposite  views  emanating  from  the  same  per- 
son in  1883,  are  correct,  and  whether  the  service  is 
to  be  considered  as  military  or  not,  it  is  still. unques- 
tionably nautical ;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  it 
comes  within  the  scope  of  the  general  principle  now 
advocated.  It  is  because  it  forms  a  part  of  Govern- 
ment work  in  which  officers  and  seamen  are  em- 
ployed to  navigate  Government  vessels,  at  sea,  from 
port  to  port,  that  it  may  fi,tly  become  a  part  of  the 
naval  establishment.  If  the  present  system  of  mili- 
tary instruction  is  so  defective  that  the  officers  of 
the  revenue  navy  are  not  made  naval  officers,  it 
would  seem  that  some  other  system  should  be 
adopted  to  that  end,  seeing  that  they  are  "  subjected 
to  equally  important  and  equally  hazardous  military 
duties,  both  in  time  of  peace  and  in  time  of  war," 
and  that  they  are  no  less  positively  "  a  part  of  our 
military  force  in  time  of  war  than  the  Army  or 
Navy."  If,  on  the  other  hand,  naval  officers  now 
have  too  little  practice  in  coast  navigation,  a  method 
should  be  devised  of  giving  them  such  practice  at 
once,  for  there  is  nothing  more  essential  than  this  to 
success  in  the  operations  of  modern  warfare. 

"The  plan  proposed  with  these  objects  in  view  in- 
cluded the  transfer  to  the  Navy  Department  of  the 
cruising  cutters,  their  officers  and  seamen  (except- 
ing the  harbor  boats  used  by  the  inspectors  of  cus- 
toms, which  do  not  require  a  special  corps  of  offi- 
cers) ;  the  organization  of  the  officers  transferred, 
as  a  Revenue-Marine  Corps  in  the  Navy,  upon  a 
footing  precisely  similar  to  that  of  the  present  naval 
officers  ;  and  the  gradual  employment  of  junior  offi- 


172  THE  QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

cers  of  the  Navy  in  this  service,  as  vacancies  occur 
at  the  bottom  of  the  list.  Such  a  measure  would  ac- 
complish the  desired  result  while  protecting  effectu- 
ally the  interests  of  the  existing  corps. 

"  The  Life-Saving  Service,  being  closely  connected 
with  the  Revenue  Marine,  and  being  equally  work 
of  a  nautical  character,  would  necessarily  follow  the 
latter.  The  objection  which  has  been  suggested 
that  naval  officers  are  not  surfmen,  applies  with 
equal  force  to  officers  of  the  Revenue  Marine.  It  is 
obvious  that  one  branch  may  be  utilized  in  this  ser- 
vice as  readily  as  the  other.  The  objection  that  a 
necessary  incompatibility  exists  between  naval  offi- 
cers as  such,  and  professional  surfmen,  which  is  not 
to  be  found  in  the  relations  to  the  latter  of  Revenue- 
Marine  officers,  requires  no  answer.  The  transfer  of 
the  service  involves  no  displacement  of  the  crews  of 
life-saving  stations  ;  nor  can  any  reason  be  adduced 
why  they  should  not  perform  as  good  work  in  saving 
life  endangered  by  the  sea,  under  a  department 
charged  with  nautical  matters,  as  under  one  whose 
appropriate  functions  are  the  collection  and  dis- 
bursement of  the  revenue,  the  issue  of  the  currency, 
and  the  regulation  of  the  national  debt. 

"  In  view  of  the  close  and  essential  connection  be- 
tween the  Navy  and  the  Mercantile  Marine,  it  was 
further  proposed  to  establish  a  Bureau  of  Mercantile 
Marine  in  the  Navy  Department,  which  should  be 
charged  with  those  branches  of  administration  re- 
quiring a  professional  knowledge  of  the  men  and 
materials  employed  in  commercial  navigation.  Sucli 
a  bureau  would  include  the  registry,  enrollment, 
and  license  of  vessels,  their  admeasurement  for  ton- 


THE   CASE   BRIEFLY   STATED.  173 

nage,  the  inspection  of  steam  vessels,  and  the  ship- 
ment and  care  of  seamen.  It  should  further  be 
made  the  business  of  the  proposed  bureau,  aided  by 
a  board  representing  the  principal  maritime  and 
commercial  interests,  to  exercise  such  care  and  su- 
pervision over  these  interests  as  would  tend  to  a  re- 
covery of  our  carrying  trade,  and  in  general  to  the 
prosperity  of  our  rapidly  decaying  merchant  marine. 
The  time  has  arrived  when  such  a  central  adminis- 
tration is  a  necessity,  as  the  merchant  marine  can- 
not prosper  while  its  governmental  regulation  re- 
mains in  the  present  chaotic  condition.  Whether 
its  regulation  should  be  intrusted  to  this  or  to  an- 
other existing  department,  or  to  a  new  department 
created  for  it.  is  still  an  open  question. 

"  The  first  plan  was  advocated  upon  three  distinct 
grounds  :  first,  that  much  of  the  work  requires  a 
special  technical  knowledge  which  it  is  the  business 
of  the  Navy  Department  to  have  always  at  com- 
mand ;  secondly,  that  as  the  Navy  is  now  charged 
with  the  protection  and  assistance  of  our  shipping 
interests  abroad,  it  might  be  wisely  connected  with 
the  promotion  of  these  interests  at  home  ;  and,  finally, 
that  as  the  merchant  marine  must  always  afford  the 
sole  reserve  upon  which,  in  emergencies,  the  Navy 
can  draw  to  recruit  its  strength,  the  interests  of  the 
two  are  inseparably  united. 

"  The  recommendations  made  in  the  report  of  last 
year  were  followed  by  considerable  discussion,  of 
which  a  brief  notice  may  fitly  be  taken.  In  some  of 
the  remonstrances  presented  by  commercial  and 
other  organizations  the  various  subjects  were  so 
confused  and  distorted,  and  the  general  purpose  of 


1/4  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

the  recommendations  was  so  entirely  ignored  that 
the  objections  failed  to  have  a  bearing  upon  the 
actual  merits  of  the  question.  Other  remonstrances 
were  notoriously  procured  by  persons  who  are 
supported  and  given  undue  importance  by  the 
existing  system,  and  who  were  alarmed  lest  change 
should  destroy  their  occupations.1  In  many  in- 
stances the  representations  were  not  full  or  delib- 
erate expressions  of  the  opinion  of  the  bodies  whose 
names  were  used.  Notably  was  this  the  case  with 
the  resolutions  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
New  York,  where  the  mover  of  an  adverse  resolu- 
tion became  himself  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
to  which  the  consideration  of  the  measures  was  re- 
ferred, and  secured  the  adoption  of  a  substantially 
similar  resolution  by  a  vote  of  only  17  out  of  740 
members  of  the  Chamber. 

"  Few  of  the  arguments  adduced  by  interested  par- 
ties seem  to  have  force  against  the  broad  general 
proposition  that  the  direction  of  these1  nautical  sub- 
jects should  be  united,  and  that  the  nautical  depart- 
ment of  the  Government  should  carry  on  the  work. 
The  greater  portion  of  them  were  based  upon  harsh 
criticisms  of  the  past  management  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment, and  of  the  conduct  of  officers  and  seamen 
of  the  Navy.  To  these  no  rejoinder  will  be  here 
engaged  in,  for  an  obvious  reason.  The  question 
whether,  as  a  permanent  assignment,  any  particular 

1  This  was  especially  seen  in  New  York,  where  the  author,  in 
arguments  before  a  commercial  committee,  was  met  by  misstate- 
ments  and  misrepresentations  claimed  to  have  been  supplied  by 
persons  connected  with  the  Revenue  Marine  and  the  Steam-Boat 
Inspection  Service. 


THE   CASE   BRIEFLY   STATED.  175 

subject-matter  most  appropriately  belongs  to  one  de- 
partment or  to  another,  must  be  settled  on  its  merits, 
upon  the  assumption  that  both  departments  either 
are  or  will  be  ably  and  honestly  conducted.  Integ- 
rity and  capacity  in  executive  business  are  not 
the  exclusive  possession  of  any  one  branch  of  the 
Government,  or  of  any  one  body  of  officials.  To 
say  that  naval  officers  cannot  wisely  be  employed  on 
board  the  cruising  cutters,  whose  principal  use  has 
no  relation  to  the  appropriate  business  of  the  Treas- 
ury Department,  because  occasionally  dutiable  ar- 
ticles have  been  brought  home  in  naval  vessels,  is 
as  unreasonable  as  to  argue  that  the  supervising  in- 
spectors should  not  inspect  steam  vessels,  because, 
in  spite  of  their  honesty  and  ability,  terrible  explo- 
sions of  boilers  have  taken  place  directly  after  their 
most  rigid  examinations  and  unqualified  certificates 
of  approval.  The  real  point  in  the  present  question, 
from  which  Congress  should  not  be  diverted  by  in- 
terested clamor,  is  :  Ought  these  kindred  branches 
of  the  public  service  to  be  united  ;  and  under  which 
of  the  two  departments,  when  both  are  well-man- 
aged, should  they  be  most  naturally  and  appropri- 
ately conducted  ? 

"To  stigmatize  naval  officers  as  idlers  who  are 
seeking  to  obtain  an  undue  share  of  the  civil  ad- 
ministration is  as  unjust  as  it  is  illogical.  If  naval 
officers  are  idlers,  it  is  because  idleness  is  enforced 
upon  them  by  a  system  which  excludes  them  from 
the  occupations  for  which  they  are  peculiarly  fitted. 
The  remedy  lies  in  giving  them  the  employment 
which  the  naval  service  proper,  in  time  of  peace, 
cannot  from  its  very  nature  fully  afford.  If  they 


1 76  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

desire  to  obtain  such  employment,  the  desire  is 
worthy  and  commendable.  In  the  present  case,  the 
charge  against  them  of  encroachment  is  without 
foundation  ;  since  the  recommendations  in  this  re- 
port have  been  made,  not  at  the  instance  or  solici- 
tation of  officers  of  the  Navy,  but,  upon  a  careful 
consideration,  by  the  head  of  the  Department,  of 
the  principles  that  should  govern  their  employ- 
ment. 

"  If  the  Navy  Department  has  not  been  wisely, 
economically,  and  energetically  administered,  and  if 
naval  officers  have  their  faults  or  their  vices,  thor- 
ough reforms  should  be  instituted,  and  such  have 
been  and  will  be  unsparingly  recommended  and 
carried  out.  If  they  cannot  be  effected  under  the 
present  distribution  of  executive  powers,  and  if,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  management  of  nautical  affairs 
is  an  appropriate  attribute  of  fiscal  administration, 
then  the  existence  of  a  separate  nautical  department 
is  an  error  which  should  be  rectified  by  placing  the 
Navy  under  a  bureau  in  the  already  comprehensive 
Department  of  the  Treasury.  But  whether  attached 
to  one  or  to  the  other,  all  branches  of  nautical 
administration  should  be  united.  As  well  might  the 
various  parts  of  financial  work  be  scattered  among 
different  departments  as  the  fragments  of  nautical 
work  be  separated  into  an  ocean  navy  here  and  a 
coast  navy  there  ;  a  survey  of  foreign  coasts  under 
one  department  and  a  survey  of  our  own  under 
another ;  a  bureau  and  an  engineer  corps  for  the 
engines  of  naval  steamers,  and  another  bureau  and 
another  engineer  corps  for  those  of  merchant 
steamers.  Wherever  the  direction  of  nautical  affairs 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  177 

is  placed,  all  its  branches  should  be  under  a  common 
head,  and  should  work  with  a  common  purpose. 

"  One  general  argument  has  been  presented  against 
the  transfer,  in  the  form  of  an  objection  to  employ- 
ing military  officers  in  civil  duties.  This  is  wholly 
out  of  place  when  applied  to  the  army  or  navy  of  a 
popular  government  in  a  law-abiding  community. 
In  a  despotism,  where  a  standing  army  is  maintained 
without  the  consent  of  the  people  and  may  be  used 
for  the  repression  of  liberty,  it  would  be  wise  to 
resist  the  extension  of  military  employment  to  civil 
labors,  even  though  the  saving  of  expense  should 
partly  balance  the  evils  resulting  from  an  increase 
of  despotic  control.  But  in  the  United  States  the 
Army  and  Navy  are  the  creation  of  the  popular  will. 
They  are  organized  and  supported  only  because  the 
people  deem  them  necessary  for  national  existence 
and  safety,  and  they  can  be  disbanded  at  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  people.  They  are  equally  with  all  other 
officials  under  the  direction  of  a  civil  administration. 
They  can  therefore  be  wisely  and  safely  employed  in 
any  work  that  will  not  impair  their  efficiency  or 
discipline,  and  where  their  employment  would  save 
money  that  would  otherwise  be  paid  to  maintain  an 
unnecessary  civil  establishment.  They  should  by 
all  means  be  so  employed  when  the  service  will  not 
only  relieve  and  benefit  the  people,  but  will  add  to 
the  professional  experience,  and  to  the  fitness  for 
war  duties,  of  the  officers  and  men.  Their  exclu- 
sion can  only  be  justified  on  the  theory  that  to  ren- 
der them  harmless  they  must  be  rendered  inefficient ; 
a  theory  which,  if  carried  out,  would  result  in  the 
immediate  abolition  of  the  service. 
la 


1 78  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

"  The  argument  in  favor  of  the  full  use  of  the  Navy 
in  all  appropriate  labors  of  peace  becomes  stronger 
as  the  nation  seems  more  unlikely  to  engage  in 
actual  warfare.  Our  international  policy  tends  to 
peace  with  all  the  world ;  our  conflicts  will  be 
infrequent  ;  and  therefore  more  than  all  other 
nations  we  should  utilize  our  officers,  seamen,  and 
ships  in  the  nautical  works  which  peace  times  re- 
quire. Such  are  their  appropriate  sphere,  not  for 
their  private  benefit,  but  for  the  greater  good  of  the 
Government  to  which  they  desire  to  give  the  fullest 
possible  service. 

"  In  presenting  its  recommendations  last  year,  the 
Department  made  every  effort  to  mature  its  opinion 
by  the  fullest  and  most  exhaustive  examination  of 
the  subject.  Had  it  done  otherwise  it  would  have 
fallen  short  of  its  duty.  The  question  has  a  vital 
bearing  upon  the  improvement  of  the  Navy,  and  is 
in  no  way  dependent  upon  the  character  of  admin- 
istration for  the  time  being  in  this  or  that  depart- 
ment. It  is  a  broad  question  of  permanent  policy 
and  statesmanship.  In  such  a  spirit  it  has  been 
dealt  with  here.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  expected 
that  such  an  extensive  change  will  commend  itself, 
at  the  first  inspection,  to  the  community  and  to  Con- 
gress while  those  who  live  upon  the  existing  system 
are  seeking,  by  denunciatory  methods,  to  create  an 
unfavorable  public  sentiment.  But  it  is  believed 
that  the  advantages  of  the  change,  when  impartially 
examined,  will  be  recognized,  and  that  it  must  ulti- 
mately be  made.  In  such  a  confident  belief  the 
Department  renews  its  recommendations,  basing 
them  not  upon  an  appeal  to  popular  prejudice,  or 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY   STATED.  1/9 

upon  recriminations,  as  odious  as  they  are  irrelevant, 
respecting  the  conduct  of  other  branches  of  the 
public  service,  but  upon  a  calm  and  candid  consid- 
eration of  the  whole  question,  in  the  interests  of  a 
sound  administrative  policy,  and  of  the  efficiency  of 
the  naval  arm  of  the  Government  as  closely  con- 
nected therewith." 

Early  in  the  present  session  of  Congress  Mr. 
Dingley  of  Maine  introduced  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives four  important  bills  relating  to  shipping. 
The  first  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  passed  by 
the  last  House — and  which  will  be  found  among  the 
appendices  to  this  volume.  It  requires  only  the  mas- 
ter of  an  American  vessel  to  be  a  citizen  and  allows  a 
minority  ownership  of  an  American  vessel  by  aliens. 
It  takes  away  from  consuls  the  right  to  exact  three 
months'  extra  wages  on  the  discharge  of  a  seaman, 
and  provides  instead  that  only  the  wages  due  shall 
be  paid,  except  when  a  vessel  is  sold  in  a  foreign 
port  or  a  sailor  is  discharged  by  reason  of  ill-treat- 
ment by  the  officers  of  a  vessel,  in  which  cases  one 
month's  extra  wages  is  to  be  paid.  The  right  to  ship 
a  seaman  for  any  port  and  discharge  him  at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  shipping  agreement  is  recognized. 
The  bill  increases  the  compensation  of  vessels  for 
transporting  shipwrecked  seamen  in  certain  cases 
and  abolishes  consular  fees  for  services  to  vessels 
and  seamen,  providing  that  consuls  shall  be  paid 
from  the  Treasury.  The  mode  of  levying  the  ton- 
nage tax  is  changed,  this  section  being  as  follows  : 

"  In  lieu  of  all  duties  on  tonnage,  including  light 
money,  now  imposed  by  law,  a  duty  of  three  cents 
per  ton,  not  to  exceed  in  the  aggregate  fifteen  cents 


l8o  THE  QUESTION   OF  SHIPS. 

per  ton  in  any  one  year,  is  hereby  imposed  at  each 
entry  on  all  vessels  which  shall  be  entered  in  any 
port  of  the  United  States  from  the  West  India  Islands 
or  from  any  port  or  place  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico, 
or  from  any  place  south  of  Mexico  down  to  and  in- 
cluding Aspinwall  and  Panama,  or  from  any  port  or 
place  in  the  dominion  of  Canada,  or  from  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  a  duty  of  six  cents  per  ton,  not  to 
exceed  in  the  aggregate  thirty  cents  per  ton  in  any 
one  year,  is  hereby  imposed  at  each  entry  on  all 
vessels  which  shall  be  entered  in  the  United  States 
from  any  other  foreign  port ;  provided,  that  nothing 
in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to  repeal  sections 
2793  and  4220  of  the  Revised  Statutes." 

The  bill  reduces  the  Marine  Hospital  tax  upon  sea- 
men engaged  in  the  foreign  carrying  trade  to  twenty 
cents  per  month  instead  of  forty  ;  limits  the  indi- 
vidual liability  of  a  ship-owner  to  the  proportion  of 
all  debts  that  his  individual  share  of  the  vessel  bears 
to  the  whole,  and  the  aggregate  liabilities  of  all  the 
owners  to  the  value  of  the  vessel.  It  further  pro- 
vides that  any  fine,  penalty,  forfeiture,  or  exaction 
upon  a  vessel  when  paid  under  protest  may  be  re- 
covered from  the  Treasury,  on  application  within 
one  year,  if  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  finds  it 
was  illegally  exacted.  It  also  gives  sailing  vessels 
the  same  privileges  in  unloading  cargo  that  are  ex- 
tended to  steamers.  The  last  section  of  the  bill  ex- 
empts any  sailing  vessel  under  tow  of  a  steam  vessel 
in  charge  of  a  licensed  United  States  pilot  from  the 
obligation  to  take  or  pay  for  the  services  of  any  pilot 
under  State  laws. 

The  second  bill  authorizes  the  United  States  In- 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  l8l 

specters  mentioned  in  Section  4442  of  the  Revised 
Statutes,  to  examine  and  license  masters  of  vessels 
and  others  as  pilots  for  sailing  vessels  in  the  coast- 
wise trade  upon  the  same  terms  and  conditions,  so 
far  as  applicable,  as  pilots  are  now  licensed  for  steam 
vessels,  and  exempts  vessels  piloted  by  such  licensed 
pilots  from  taking  or  paying  for  the  services  of  any 
State  pilot. 

The  third  bill,  "To  encourage  American  ship- 
building for  the  foreign  carrying  trade,"  extends  the 
act  of  1872,  admitting  free  of  duty  materials  of 
foreign  production  for  the  construction  of  wooden 
vessels  for  the  foreign  carrying  trade,  so  as  to  admit 
in  like  manner  all  materials  of  foreign  production 
for  the  construction,  equipment,  repairs,  and  supplies 
of  iron  and  steel,  as  well  as  wooden  vessels,  for  the 
foreign  trade.  It  also  admits  free  of  duty  materials 
of  foreign  production  for  the  manufacture  of  articles 
to  be  used  in  the  construction  and  equipment  of  such 
vessels,  and  also  materials  for  the  construction  of 
machinery  for  ship-yards  and  shops  connected  there- 
with. 

The  fourth  bill  establishes  a  Bureau  of  Commerce 
and  Navigation  in  the  Treasury  Department,  and 
authorizes  the  appointment  by  the  President  of  a 
Commissioner  and  Deputy  Commissioner  of  Com- 
merce and  Navigation,  with  such  clerks  as  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  may  detail  from  his  present 
force.  The  Commissioner  of  Commerce  and  Navi- 
gation, under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  shall  have  general  superintendence  of 
the  commercial  marine  and  merchant  seamen  of  the 
United  States  ;  shall  have  charge  of  all  questions 


1 82  THE   QUESTION   OF   SHIPS. 

relating  to  the  issue  of  registers,  enrollments,  and 
licenses  of  vessels  ;  shall  have  the  supervision  of  the 
laws  relating  to  the  admeasurement  of  vessels,  the 
assigning  of  letters  and  numbers  thereto,  and  the 
interpretation  and  the  execution  of  the  laws  relat- 
ing to  these  subjects  and  to  the  tonnage  tax.  The 
Commissioner  is  also  charged  with  so  much  of  the 
duties  heretofore  imposed  upon  the  Bureau  of  Sta- 
tistics a"s  relates  to  navigation  and  foreign  commerce. 
He  is  also  authorized  to  accept  international  rules 
for  the  commercial  marine  of  the  United  States  and 
to  keep  supervision  of  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
United  States  and  report  all  obstructions.  He  is 
to  prepare  annually  and  publish  a  list  of  vessels  of 
the  United  States,  and  is  authorized  to  change  the 
names  of  vessels.  The  Commissioner  of  Commerce 
and  Navigation  is  required  to  investigate  the  work- 
ing of  the  laws  relating  to  navigation  and  to  report 
such  particulars  in  their  operation  as  may,  in  his 
judgment,  admit  of  improvement  or  require  amend- 
ment. If  this  initial  step  in  establishing  a  Bureau 
of  Commerce  and  Navigation  should  be  approved 
by  Congress,  Mr.  Dingley  hopes  that  in  due  time 
all  other  boards  and  officials  charged  with  duties  re- 
lating to  the  merchant  marine  of  the  United  States 
will  be  brought  within  the  control  of  this  bureau,  so 
that  the  Government  may  have  a  department  similar 
to  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  charged  with  the  duty 
of  guarding  the  interests  of  shipping. 

The  provisions  of  these  bills  are  excellent  in  some 
particulars,  and  are  undoubtedly  tendencies  in  a 
right  direction  ;  in  details,  however,  and  in  want  of 
breadth  they  are  open  to  criticism,  the  justice  of 


THE  CASE  BRIEFLY  STATED.  183 

which  will  stand  or  fall  by  the  arguments  already 
advanced.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  must  un- 
doubtedly be  gratified  that  his  statesmanlike  princi- 
ples of  administration  are  bearing  such  good  fruit, 
for  surely  in  a  future,  not  distant,  right-thinking 
men  everywhere  will  accept  the  plan  proposed  by 
him  as  the  true  one.  The  special  objections  to  the 
Bill  which  seeks  to  establish  a  Bureau  of  Commerce 
and  Navigation  in  the  Treasury  Department  are 
based  upon  the  facts  that  the  practical  control  is 
given  to  officials  whose  lack  of  special  training  ren- 
ders their  fitness  questionable  ;  that  a  specific  branch 
of  government  is  made  a  part  of  a  Department 
which  already  administers  enormous  and  most 
varied  interests  ;  and  that  a  new  bureau  is  created 
while  an  old  one  exists,  which  is  co-central  in  its 
purposes  and  is  already  possessed  of  such  special 
advantages  for  the  work  that  its  control  of  the  mer- 
chant marine  will  not  involve  its  own  affairs  with 
those  of  any  other  department. 

And  with  the  restoration  of  the  Merchant  Marine 
the  elevation  of  the  Navy  should  go  hand  in  hand. 
The  people  of  this  country  are  most  willing,  nay  most 
anxious,  to  recreate  their  Navy  and  no  Congressional 
action  would  be  more  popular  ;  but  the  fear  of  a 
Democratic  House  of  Representatives  that  its  ap- 
propriations on  the  eve  of  a  national  election  will  be 
handled  by  a  Republican  Executive,  through  his 
Secretaries,  seems  to  be  so  important  that  every  other 
consideration  is  consigned  to  a  limbo  of  political 
expediency.  But  can  we  hesitate  longer?  The 
present  condition  of  our  fleet  makes  it  necessary 
that  the  work  of  reconstruction  should  go  on  as 


1 84  THE   QUESTION  OF  SHIPS. 

rapidly  as  possible  On  foreign  stations  we  have  less 
than  twenty  cruising  vessels,  and  with  nothing  at 
home  to  replace  them.  Therefore,  besides  the  three 
vessels  now  building,  seven  additional  unarmored 
steel  cruisers  should  be  begun,  three  of  which  should 
conform  to  the  types  illustrated  by  the  Chicago,  Bos- 
ton, and  Dolphin,  and  four  should  be  heavily  armed 
cruising  gunboats  of  about  1,500  tons  displacement, 
with  good  speed. 

The  nucleus  of  the  armored  fleet  now  represented 
by  the  doubled  turretted  Monitors  Puritan,  Amphi- 
trite,  Terror,  Monadnock,  and  Miantonomah  should 
be  increased  by  the  construction  of  three  steel  rams, 
three  cruising  and  six  harbor  torpedo  boats ;  and 
the  standard  fixed  by  the  first  Advisory  Board  in 
1881,  viz.:  a  fleet  of  forty-three  cruising  ships,  with 
a  reserve  of  twenty-seven,  should  be  adopted.  To 
reach  this  total  of  seventy  war  ships  would  require 
the  building  of  forty-five  vessels,  and  in  order  to  keep 
abreast  with  the  march  of  improvement  at  least  seven 
of  these  should  be  constructed  yearly  for  the  next 
ten  years.  Under  this  plan  the  country  would  find 
itself  in  1894,  by  a  yearly  expenditure  of  $4,283,000 
and  with  an  annual  construction  of  13,500  tons,  in 
the  possession  of  a  modern  steel  navy,  "in  everyway 
adequate  to  the  maintenance  of  the  safety  and  honor 
of  the  nation." 

Then  with  a  legitimate  commerce  protected  and 
aided  by  a  competent  naval  force  we  can  assume  our 
old  place  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  Insolent 
and  jealous  rivals  and  snarling  enemies  can  be  taught 
the  lessons  so  long  needed  ;  and  when  the  next  cen- 
tury dawns  upon  a  nation  of  seventy  millions  of 


THE   CASE  BRIEFLY   STATED.  185 

freemen  who  illustrate  the  wisdom  and  confirm  the 
prophecy  of  our  forefathers,  this  country  will  have 
the  power  to  assert  the  natural  rights  of  man  wherever 
such  may  be  assailed.  Prosperity  on  land  is  the 
handmaiden  of  power  at  sea,  and  whose  is  the  ocean, 
his  also  are  the  lands  around  and  about  it.  Action, 
action,  action  is  needed,  but  vain  is  the  call,  as  of 
old,  unless  the  people  command  the  change  ;  for  Con- 
gress will  consider  only  the  political  bearings  of  the 
great  question,  and  will  never  consent  to  the  restora- 
tion of  the  merchant  marine  and  to  the  golden  wed- 
ding of  the  two  services  until  the  citizens  of  this  Gov- 
ernment, which  is  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and 
by  the  people,  demand  in  trumpet  tones,  "FREE 
SHIPS  AND  SAILORS'  RIGHTS." 


APPENDIX    I 


IN  the  Congress  of  1881,  upon  motion  of  Mr.  Perry 
Belmont,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  into 
the  condition  and  wants  of  American  ship-building 
and  ship-owning  interests,  and  to  investigate  the 
causes  of  the  decline  of  the  American  foreign  car- 
rying trade.  Contrary  to  usual  custom,  Mr.  Bel- 
mont  was  not  made  a  member  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  both  Houses — a  reversal  of 
precedent  that  excited  much  invidious  comment. 
After  various  meetings  the  Committee,  on  December 
15,  1882,  submitted  the  following  report : — 

Your  committee  assembled  in  New  York  City  August  nth, 
and,  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  investigation  which 
they  were  directed  to  make  in  the  recess,  extended  a  public 
invitation  to  all  persons  possessing  information  on  the  sub- 
jects of  inquiry  to  furnish  the  committee  with  written  replies 
to  the  following  interrogatories  : — 

First. — Why  cannot  this  country  build  iron,  steel,  or  wooden  vessels 
as  well  and  as  cheaply  as  they  are  built  in  Scotland,  England,  or  other 
countries  ? 

Second. — If  we  have  such  vessels,  without  cost  to  us,  can  they  be  run 
by  us  in  competition  with  those  of  other  countries  who  build  their  own 
vessels  and  run  them  with  their  own  officers  and  crews,  without  a 
modification  or  repeal  of  existing  laws  ? 

Third. — What  modifications  of  existing  laws  or  what  new  laws  are 
required  to  remove  discriminations  against  and  burdens  upon  our 
shipping  and  ship-owning  interests,  such  as  customs  dues,  port  dues, 
consular  charges,  pilotage,  tonnage,  and  other  dues,  etc.? 


1 88  APPENDIX. 

Fourth. — Compare  the  laws  of  other  countries  with  our  own  with  a 
view  to  their  effect  upon  our  and  their  shipping  and  ship-owning  in- 
terests ? 

Fifth. — Should  our  navigation  laws  be  repealed  or  modified,  and  if 
modified,  wherein  and  for  what  purpose  ? 

Sixth. — What  is  the  cost  of  the  component  materials  of  iron,  steel,  or 
wooden  vessels  in  other  countries  and  our  own  ? 

Seventh.— What  would  be  the  effect  of  a  rebate  on  any  or  all  such 
material  ? 

Eighth. — Present  any  other  statements  connected  with  the  cause  of 
the  decline  of  the  American  foreign  carrying  trade,  and  what  remedies 
can  be  applied  by  legislation  ? 


After  taking  measures  to  give  a  wide  publicity  to  this  in- 
vitation through  the  press  and  to  forward  the  interrogatories 
to  a  large  number  of  persons,  in  various  parts  of  the  Union, 
supposed  to  be  practically  acquainted  with  the  subject,  the 
committee  adjourned  to  reassemble  in  New  York  City  No- 
vember i  $th,  and  during  their  six  days'  session  in  that  city 
the  efforts  to  obtain  all  possible  information  were  cordially 
seconded  by  representatives  of  the  associations  interested 
in  American  shipping,  and  by  gentlemen  interested  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  ship-building  and  ship-owning  industries  of 
the  United  States. 

The  exhaustive  and  very  valuable  statements  and  statis- 
tics accompanying  this  report  bear  witness  not  only  to  the 
cordiality  with  which  the  inquiry  has  been  welcomed,  but 
also  to  the  deep  interest  felt  by  the  American  people  in  the 
adoption  of  measures  calculated  to  improve  the  condition  of 
our  foreign  carrying  trade.  The  official  tables  appended  to 
this  report  furnish  an  accurate  statement  of  the  condition  of 
the  American  merchant  marine  engaged  in  the  foreign  and 
coastwise  trade  and  in  the  fisheries  for  each  fiscal  year  from 
1840  to  and  including  1882,  so  far  as  the  same  is  shown  by 
the  tonnage  employed  in  each,  the  value  of  the  exports  and 
imports  which  make  up  our  foreign  commerce,  and  the 
share  of  these  carried  in  American  vessels. 

The  following  figures  for  each  semi-decennial  year  since 


APPENDIX. 


189 


1840  will  present  at  a  glance  the  facts  relating  to  the  past 
and  present  condition  of  American  shipping  : 


Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Year. 

Tonnage  in 
Foreign  Trade. 

Tonnage 
in  Coastwise 
Trade. 

Value  of  Exports 
and  Imports. 

carried 
in  American 

carried 
in  Foreign 

Vessels. 

Vessels. 

1840. 

762,838 

1,172,694 

$231,227,465 

82.9 

I7.I 

I84S. 

904,476 

1,223,218 

231,901,170 

81.7 

18-3 

1850. 

1,439,694 

1,797,825 

330,037,038 

72-5 

17-5 

1855- 

2,348,358 

2,543,255 

536,625,366 

75-6 

14.4 

1860. 

2,378,30 

2,644.867 

762,288,550 

66.5 

33-5 

1865. 

1.518,350 

3,318,522 

604,412,996 

27.7 

62.3 

1870. 

1,448,846 

2,638,247 

991,896,889 

35-6 

64.4 

1875- 

1,515,998 

2,219,698 

1,219,434,544 

25.8 

74.2 

1880. 

1,314,402 

2,637,686 

1,613,770,633 

17-4 

82.6 

1881. 

1,297,035 

2,646.011 

1,675,024,318 

16.0 

84.0 

1882. 

1,259,493 

2,873,638 

I,567,07i,700 

15-5 

84-5 

THE  COASTWISE  MARINE. 

The  above  table  indicates  nearly  as  prosperous  a  condi- 
tion of  our  merchant  marine  engaged  in  the  coastwise  trade, 
to  which  only  American  vessels  are  admitted,  as  is  found 
in  other  domestic  industries.  The  amount  of  trade,  to  be 
sure,  is  but  little  larger  now  than  before  the  war  ;  but  as  a 
much  larger  proportion  of  it  is  now  composed  of  steamers 
than  was  the  case  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  carrying  capa- 
city is  increased  very  much  more  than  the  comparison  of 
tonnage  would  indicate.  The  rapid  extension  of  our  rail- 
road system  within  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  also  diverted 
to  land  conveyance  a  large  proportion  of  the  freight  for- 
merly carried  by  sailing  vessels.  When  it  is  borne  in  mind 
that  during  the  past  decade  the  number  of  freight  cars  em- 
ployed on  railroads  in  the  United  States  has  increased  120 
per  cent.,  so  that  to-day  their  freight  capacity  is  nearly  three 
times  that  of  the  vessels  employed  in  our  coastwise,  includ- 
ing the  lake  and  river  trade,  the  slow  growth  of  the  latter 
interest  is  fully  accounted  for.  Some  burdens  have,  how- 
ever, been  pointed  out  to  your  committee,  which  ought  to 


igO  APPENDIX. 

be  removed  from  our  coastwise  marine  to  enable  it  to 
compete  on  equal  conditions  with  common  carriers  on  the 
land. 

THE  FOREIGN  TRADE. 

The  foregoing  official  table  presents  a  very  unsatisfactory 
and  humiliating  condition  of  the  American  merchant  marine 
employed  in  the  foreign  carrying  trade.  While  our  foreign 
commerce  has  steadily  increased — the  value  of  our  exports 
and  imports  the  last  fiscal  year  having  been  seven  times  as 
much  as  it  was  in  1855,  and  more  than  twice  as  much  as  it 
was  in  1860 — yet  the  share  of  these  exports  and  imports 
carried  in  American  vessels  has  decreased  from  82.9  per 
cent,  in  184010  15.5  per  cent,  in  1882.  Of  this  loss  16.4 
per  cent,  was  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  in 
1 86 1  ;  38.8  per  cent,  during  the  four  years  of  the  war,  and 
12.2  per  cent,  since  the  close  of  the  war.  The  decline  ex- 
perienced between  1845  and  1850  was  largely  recovered  be- 
tween 1850  and  1855  ;  but  from  1856  the  decline  was  con- 
tinuous, although  slow  up  to  1861,  when  it  became  so  rapid 
and  serious,  in  consequence  of  the  civil'  war  and  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Confederate  cruisers,  that  between  1861  and 
1865  we  lost  more  than  one-third  of  our  foreign  carrying 
trade.  Between  1865  and  1870  there  was  some  improve- 
ment, mainly  brought  about  by  a  return  of  vessels  to  the 
foreign  trade,  which  had  been  employed  during  the  war  in 
Government  service  and  the  coastwise  trade.  Between  1870 
and  1875  ^e  share  of  the  foreign  carrying  trade  controlled 
by  American  vessels  declined  9.8  per  cent.;  between  1875 
and  1880  the  decline  was  8.4  per  cent.,  and  in  the  past  two 
years  it  has  been  1.9  per  cent. 

The  growth  of  American  tonnage  engaged  in  the  foreign 
carrying  trade  practically  ceased  in  1855.  Before  that  period 
it  had  increased  for  many  years  at  the  rate  of  about  twelve 
per  cent,  per  annum,  but  between  1855  and  1860,  notwith- 
standing our  exports  and  imports  increased  eight  per  cent, 
per  annum  or  forty  per  cent,  during  the  five  years,  our  ton- 


APPENDIX.  IQI 

nage  employed  in  the  foreign  carrying  trade  remained  al- 
most stationary,  and  the  ship-building  industry,  so  far  as  it 
was  directed  to  the  construction  of  vessels  for  the  foreign 
trade,  rapidly  declined.  In  1855  our  tonnage  employed  in 
the  foreign  trade  was  2,348,358  tons,  and  in  1860  it  was  only 
2,379,396,  thus  barely  holding  its  own.  In  1855  there  were 
507  vessels  of  the  classes  usually  employed  in  the  foreign 
trade  built  in  the  United  States ;  in  1856  the  number  de- 
clined to  463  ;  in  1857  it  declined  to  309  ;  in  1858  to  168, 
and  in  1859  to  117. 

During  the  four  years  of  civil  war  the  American  tonnage 
employed  in  the  foreign  trade  declined  from  2,496,894  tons 
in  1861  to  1,518,350  tons  in  1865,  a  loss  of  978,544  tons,  or 
nearly  forty  per  cent.  The  decline  of  this  tonnage  since 
1865  has  been  about  15.5  per  cent.,  notwithstanding  the  value 
of  our  foreign  commerce  has  increased  from  $604,412,996 
in  1865  to  $1,567,022,700  in  1882. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  DECLINE. 

The  decline  of  our  foreign  carrying  trade  dates  from  1855, 
although  the  causes  which  produced  it  gathered  volume  so 
slowly  as  to  attract  little  attention  for  several  years.  What 
these  causes  were  appears  from  an  investigation  of  the  mari- 
time history  of  the  commercial  world,  and  particularly  of 
England,  between  1840  and  1860.  Up  to  1850-55  the  ocean 
trade  was  carried  on  exclusively  in  wooden  sailing  vessels. 
To  be  sure,  a  few  ocean  iron  steamships  had  been  con- 
structed between  1836  and  1845,  but  the  prejudice  against 
them  was  so  strong  that  it  was  not  till  between  1845  and 
1855  that  they  began  to  gain  a  secure  position  on  the  ocean. 
The  success  of  iron  steamships  gave  to  England  an  opportu- 
nity to  seize  upon  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world,  which  she 
was  not  slow,  to  take  advantage  of.  So  long  as  wooden  sail- 
ing vessels  engrossed  the  ocean  trade  the  United  States  had 
the  advantage  in  possessing  cheaper  materials  for  ship-build- 
ing over  every  other  maritime  nation.  But  when  it  was 


192  APPENDIX. 

discovered  that  iron  could  take  the  place  of  wood,  and  steam 
could  be  successfully  substituted  for  sails  in  ocean  freighting, 
then  the  tables  were  turned,  because  of  the  fact  that  England 
possessed  such  extensive  iron  and  coal  mines  near  the  sea, 
with  cheap  labor  to  work  them.  These  advantages,  how- 
ever, would  not  have  availed  England  in  the  start  if  her 
Government  had  not  come  to  the  aid  of  her  shipping  inter- 
ests by  liberal  mail  pay,  and  even  by  guaranteeing  seven 
and  eight  per  cent,  dividends  to  capitalists ;  and  thus  the 
English  Government  secured  the  establishment  of  steam- 
ship lines  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Parliament  in  1854  es- 
tablished a  Board  of  Trade,  with  its  president  a  member  of 
the  Ministry,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  looking  after  the  inter- 
ests of  British  commerce  and  British  shipping.  The  mer- 
chant shipping  laws  of  the  United  Kingdom  were  revised  so 
as  to  remove  every  burden  from  her  merchant  marine,  and 
afford  every  possible  facility  for  gaining  possession  of  the 
ocean. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  great  advantage  given  Eng- 
land by  the  change  in  the  ocean  carrying  trade  from  wood 
to  iron  and  sail  to  steam,  so  signally  strengthened  by  the 
co-operation  and  material  aid  of  the  British  Government,  and 
met  only  by  a  policy  of  inaction  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  should  have  begun  to  check  the 
growth  of  our  tonnage  for  several  years  prior  to  1860. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  if  the  civil  war  had  not  come 
upon  us  just  as  we  began  to  realize  that  our  foreign  carrying 
trade  had  ceased  to  grow,  while  that  of  England  was  rapidly 
extending,  some  measures  would  have  been  taken  to  regain 
the  advantages  which  we  were  beginning  to  lose.  But  at  this 
crisis  the  civil  war  came  upon  us,  and  not  only  engrossed 
our  energies  and  capital  from  1861  to  1865,  but  also  swept 
from  the  ocean  more  than  one-third  of  all  the  deep-sea  ton- 
nage which  we  possessed  at  the  opening  of  the  struggle. 
Great  as  was  the  loss  to  our  merchant  marine  by  the  direct 
influence  of  the  war,  yet  more  serious  still  was  the  injury  it 
inflicted  on  us  by  the  opportunity  that  it  gave  England  to 


APPENDIX.  193 

build  up  great  iron  ship-yards  and  gain  possession  of  the 
channels  of  trade  at  a  time  when  our  hands  were  tied.  Even 
after  the  war  closed  a  depreciated  currency,  inflated  prices, 
and  the  high  taxation  necessary  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
conflict  of  arms,  made  it  difficult  to  devise  any  policy  to  re- 
vive our  shipping  interests.  To  add  to  our  difficulties  the 
extraordinary  profit  afforded  capital  and  labor  by  the  open- 
ing up  of  the  far  West  made  the  more  moderate  profits  of 
the  foreign  carrying  trade  undesirable  for  investors.  It  was 
not  till  our  currency  had  settled  down  to  a  specie  basis  and 
restored  normal  prices,  and  not  till  the  far  West  ceased  to 
offer  so  exceptional  opportunities  for  investment,  and  the 
rate  of  interest  dropped  to  the  point  where  it  has  remained 
for  a  few  years  past,  that  any  legislative  measures  could  be 
devised  which  would  be  likely  to  attract  capital  to  the  for- 
eign carrying  trade. 

DIFFICULTIES  TO   BE  OVERCOME. 

In  considering  what  remedies  for  the  prostrate  condition 
of  our  foreign  carrying  trade  are  within  the  reach  of  legisla- 
tion, it  is  obvious  that  the  difficulty  of  the  problem  is  greatly 
increased  by  the  fact  that  England  has  had  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  the  start  of  us  in  working  out  her  com- 
prehensive and  ingenious  policy  of  building  up  her  merchant 
marine  employed  in  the  foreign  trade  since  iron  and  steam 
began  to  revolutionize  the  transportation.  However  wise 
may  be  any  plan  of  relief  and  encouragement,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  revival  must  be  slow.  But  the  stake  is  so  great  in 
its  economical  aspects  and  so  vital  to  our  national  growth 
and  safety,  that  no  effort  should  be  spared  to  accomplish  the 
end  which  Congress  had  in  view  when  this  investigation  was 
ordered. 

The  foreign  carrying  trade,  unlike  the  protected  coast- 
wise trade  and  all  other  domestic  industries,  is  on  the  great 
highway  of  the  ocean,  where  competition  is  open  to  the 
whole  world.  The  nation  which  can  carry  on  this  trade  the 
«3 


194  APPENDIX. 

most  efficiently  and  at  the  least  cost  to  shippers  will  control 
it,  and  in  controlling  it  will  command  the  ocean.  By  our 
ability  to  build  vessels  as  cheap  as  other  nations  so  long  as 
wood  was  the  material  of  which  they  were  constructed,  and 
by  our  ability  to  sail  them  as  economically  as  others  so  long 
as  sailing  vessels  engrossed  the  ocean  trade,  and  the  British 
Government  left  her  merchant  marine  to  take  care  of  itself, 
as  our  Government  always  has,  the  United  States  had  a 
proud  position  on  the  ocean.  We  lost  that  position  when 
these  conditions  passed  away.  If  we  are  to  revive  our  for- 
eign carrying  trade  and  assume  the  place  on  the  ocean  to 
which  we  are  entitled,  we  must  make  it  feasible  to  build  the 
kind  of  vessels  required  for  the  foreign  trade  so  that  they 
will  cost  our  ship-owners  no  more  than  they  cost  to  foreign 
owners. 

CONSTRUCTION   OF  VESSELS. 

If  wooden  sailing  vessels  controlled  the  ocean  trade  as 
they  did  twenty-five  years  ago,  there  would  be  no  problem 
of  the  construction  of  vessels  to  solve.  We  can  build  to-day 
first-class  wooden  sailing  vessels  as  -cheaply  as  they  can  be 
built  elsewhere,  as  we  did  before  the  war  ;  but  notwithstand- 
ing such  vessels  will  always  be  used  extensively  in  the  coast- 
wise trade,  and  to  a  restricted  extent  in  the  foreign  trade, 
yet  it  is  obvious  that  iron  steamships  are  to  largely  control 
the  ocean  carrying  trade  of  the  world.  Year  by  year,  as  im- 
provements have  been  made  to  economize  fuel,  steamships 
have  improved  more  and  more,  until  to-day  they  command 
the  trade  of  the  North  Atlantic.  All  of  the  practical  gentle- 
men who  appeared  before  your  committee  agreed  that  it 
now  costs  on  the  average  $10  to  $15  per  ton  more  to  build 
an  iron  sailing  vessel  and  from  $25  to  $35  per  ton  more  to 
build  an  iron  steamship  in  the  United  States  than  it  costs 
on  the  Clyde.  They  all  agreed  that  the  chief  cause  of  this 
excess  of  cost  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  labor  required  to 
mine,  smelt  and  make  the  iron  and  fashion  it  into  the  form 
of  the  steamship  costs  considerably  more  in  the  United 


APPENDIX.  195 

States  than  it  does  on  the  Clyde.  If  we  had  been  called 
upon  to  build  iron  steamships  before  the  war  we  should  have 
found  the  same  difficulty  in  competing  with  Great  Britain  in 
a  manufacture  requiring  so  large  an  amount  of  labor  as  does 
the  building  of  iron  steamers  from  the  ore  and  coal  in  the 
bed.  Among  other  causes  named  was  the  fact  that  the 
small  demand  for  iron  vessels — for  the  reason  that  England's 
experience,  start,  and  other  advantages  enable  her  to  build 
and  sail  vessels  more  cheaply  than  we  can — gives  little  en- 
couragement to  investment  of  the  large  amount  of  capital 
needed  to  establish  and  extend  iron  ship-yards,  stimulate 
the  inventive  genius  of  our  people,  and  overcome  the  obsta- 
cles always  encountered  in  inaugurating  new  industries. 

It  is  conceded  by  all  that  no  remedy  can  be  effective  or 
wise  which  does  not  look  to  the  development  of  shipbuild- 
ing in  the  United  States  and  to  making  it  practicable  to 
build  iron  vessels  in  this  country  for  the  foreign  trade  at  a 
cost  to  the  owners  no  greater  than  that  of  similar  ships  of 
our  rivals.  Every  remedy  suggested  is  urged  largely  on 
the  ground  that  it  will  ultimately  accomplish  this  result. 
Nothing  is  better  settled  than  the  fact  that  no  nation  can 
gain  or  long  hold  a  strong  position  on  the  ocean  unless  it 
builds  its  own  ships.  Any  nation  which  relies  on  another 
nation  for  its  supply  of  ships  loses  in  time  of  peace  its  com- 
mercial independence,  and  in  time  of  war  places  its  very  ex- 
istence at  the  mercy  of  the  powers  which  command  the 
ocean.  In  endeavoring  to  devise  a  policy  which  will  build 
up  the  iron  ship-building  industry  in  the  United  States,  and 
supply  our  ship-owners  with  such  vessels  as  they  may  want 
for  the  foreign  trade  at  a  cost  no  greater  than  the  cost  of 
vessels  run  by  their  competitors,  your  committee  have  found 
more  or  less  difference  of  opinion  among  ourselves  as  to 
what  would  be  the  wisest  and  most  efficient  plan.  Feeling 
the  grave  importance  of  an  earnest  effort  to  provide  a 
remedy  for  the  decadence  of  the  American  carrying  trade, 
and  recognizing  that  there  must  be  some  yielding  of  per- 
sonal views  if  anything  is  to  be  done,  your  committee,  with- 


196  APPENDIX. 

out  waiving  the  individual  right  of  any  member  to  favor  ad- 
ditional remedies,  have  united  in  recommending  the  adop- 
tion by  Congress  of  the  plan  as  laid  down  in  section  18  of 
the  bill  presented,  providing  for  the  payment  of  a  draw- 
back on  American  material  used  equal  to  the  duty  if  it  had 
been  foreign  material. 

For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  what  would  be  the  practi- 
cal working  of  the  foregoing  plan,  we  have  obtained  from  the 
Delaware  River  Iron  Ship  Building  and  Engine  Works  a 
schedule  of  the  materials  actually  used  in  constructing  two 
first-class  passenger  and  freight  steamships  for  the  Pacific 
trade  of  2,131  tons  each,  having  a  speed  of  thirteen  knots. 
It  appears  that  3,709,845  pounds  of  iron,  mainly  in  the  form 
of  plates,  angles,  and  bars,  were  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  hull,  engines,  boilers,  etc.,  of  each  steamship.  The 
duty  on  iron,  if  imported  in  these  forms,  would  average  under 
the  present  tariff  about  $26  for  each  ton  of  the  steamship. 
The  duty  on  the  other  materials  used  in  the  hull,  equipment 
and  furniture,  would  carry  the  drawback  allowed  from  the 
Treasury  to  about  $34.  As  the  cost  of  each  of  the  steam- 
ships to  which  we  have  referred  was  $286,317,  or  $134  per 
ton,  the  net  cost  under  the  foregoing  plan,  after  deducting 
the  drawback,  would  be  about  $100  per  ton,  which,  from  all 
the  information  obtained  by  your  committee,  would  be  sub- 
stantially the  cost  of  a  similar  steamship  built  upon  the 
Clyde.  If  the  steamship  were  intended  only  for  freighting, 
with  the  speed  of  seven  or  eight  knots,  as  usually  found  in 
English  freighting  steamers,  the  quantity  of  iron  used,  the 
drawback,  and  the  cost  would  be  considerably  reduced.  In 
the  case  of  iron  sailing  vessels  the  drawback  would  be  about 
$15  per  ton.  That  the  proposed  drawback,  therefore,  will 
practically  affect  the  increased  cost  of  building  an  iron 
steamship  in  the  United  States  over  its  cost  on  the  Clyde  is 
the  unanimous  judgment  of  ship-builders  and  owners  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  of  San  Francisco  (which  proposed  this  plan), 
the  Maritime  Association  of  New  York,  and  other  commer- 
cial boards. 


APPENDIX.  197 

So  far  as  the  original  cost  of  any  kind  of  a  vessel  affects 
the  question  of  the  restoration  of  the  American  flag  to  its 
proper  position  on  the  ocean,  there  is  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  policy  proposed  will  solve  the  problem.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  United  States 
Treasury  receives  annually  about  $1,500,000  from  the  tax 
on  tonnage  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade.  This  tax  is  not 
imposed  on  vessels  engaged  in  the  coastwise  trade  or  on  any 
other  industry.  In  1880  the  tonnage  tax  yielded  $1,490,544, 
of  which  $237,863  was  paid  by  American  vessels.  During 
the  last  fiscal  year  the  amount  of  the  tax  was  little  less,  but 
it  is  certain  to  increase  as  our  foreign  commerce  enlarges. 
There  would  be  a  general  concurrence  in  the  justice  of  abol- 
ishing the  tax  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  England  and  most 
foreign  nations  impose  a  similar  tonnage  tax  on  all  vessels  en- 
tering their  ports,  and  the  further  fact  that  five-sixths  of  our 
tonnage  tax  is  paid  by  foreign  and  only  one-sixth  by  Amer- 
ican vessels  ;  and  on  account  of  reciprocal  commercial  trea- 
ties the  tax  cannot  be  abolished  on  our  own  vessels  without 
also  working  abolition  as  to  foreign  vessels.  We  can,  how- 
ever, and  should  use  the  tax  or  its  equivalent  to  encourage 
our  own  merchant  marine  employed  in  the  foreign  trade. 
This  was  precisely  what  England  did  when  she  granted 
$10,000,000  out  of  her  tonnage  tax  to  make  the  Clyde  the 
most  favorable  location  in  the  world  for  iron  ship-building. 

On  the  reasonable  supposition  that  the  tonnage  tax  will 
amount  to  $10,000,000  during  the  next  five  years,  this  alone 
would  meet  the  drawback  demands  under  the  plan  proposed 
for  at  least  400,000  tons  of  new  steamships  and  sailing  ves- 
sels for  the  foreign  trade  during  that  period.  This  increase 
of  tonnage  would  itself  go  far  to  revive  our  foreign  carrying 
trade  without  taking  a  single  dollar  from  the  ordinary  reve- 
nue. If  the  addition  to  our  tonnage  should  be  more  than 
this  the  additional  appropriations  required  would  be  wisely 
expended.  From  any  point  of  view  the  experiment  is  one 
which  affords  much  promise  and,  in  view  of  the  general  in- 
dorsement which  it  has  received  from  boards  of  trade  and 


198  APPENDIX. 

commercial  men  and  the  national  importance  of  the  end 
sought  to  be  reached,  ought  to  be  given  a  thorough  trial. 
If,  in  addition  to  this  direct  aid,  the  United  States  shall  imi- 
tate Great  Britain  in  giving  contracts  to  private  ship-yards 
to  build  a  portion  of  any  steel  war  ship  which  it  may  be 
deemed  wise  to  construct  for  our  navy,  there  is  reason  and 
hope  that  favorable  results  would  follow.  As  it  is  essen- 
tial for  our  iron  and  steel  ship-yards  to  place  themselves  in 
a  position  to  secure  contracts  for  building  vessels  for  South 
America,  and  perhaps  other  foreign  countries,  your  com- 
mittee recommend  that  a  drawback  of  ninety  per  cent,  be 
allowed  on  any  imported  materials  of  a  vessel  constructed 
in  the  United  States  for  foreign  account.  The  law  as  it  now 
stands  (section  3019,  Revised  Statutes)  allows  such  a  draw- 
back in  the  case  of  a  vessel  or  other  article  wholly  constructed 
of  imported  material.  As  many  of  the  materials  of  such  a 
vessel  can  be  obtained  at  home  as  cheaply  as  abroad,  and 
would  be  preferred  by  the  builder  of  a  vessel  for  foreign  ac- 
count, it  is  wise  to  allow  a  drawback,  so  far  as  imported  ma- 
terials are  concerned,  when  the  vessel  is  built  partly  of  for- 
eign and  partly  of  domestic  material. 

The  other  problem  which  must  be  satisfactorily  solved  re- 
lates to  the  successful  running  of  American  vessels  in  the 
foreign  trade  after  they  are  built.  After  a  policy  has  been 
inaugurated  which  will  secure  to  America  sail  and  steam 
vessels  at  no  higher  cost  than  those  owned  by  our  rivals,  such 
a  consummation  will  not  revive  the  carrying  trade  of  the 
United  States  unless  we  can  maintain  and  sail  these  vessels 
under  our  law  at  no  higher  cost  to  the  owner  than  English 
ship-owners  can  sail  their  vessels  under  British  laws.  That 
we  have  not  been  able  to  do  this  for  many  years  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  we  have  built  first-class 
modern  sailing  vessels  for  nearly  ten  years  as  cheaply  as  our 
foreign  competitors,  yet  we  have  been  gradually  driven  from 
the  ocean  by  foreign  sailing  vessels  as  well  as  by  foreign 
steamships.  More  than  half  of  our  exports  and  imports  are 
still  carried  by  sailing  vessels,  and  yet  American  vessels 


APPENDIX.  199 

carry  but  little  more  than  a  third  of  this  half.  To  be  sure,  it  Is 
only  in  this  branch  of  carrying  trade  that  we  make  any  show- 
ing, but  the  slow  and  steady  decline  of  even  our  sailing  ton- 
nage employed  in  the  foreign  trade  and  the  unanimous  voice 
of  our  ship-owners  bear  witness  to  the  disadvantages  under 
which  we  have  labored.  The  evidence  presented  to  your 
committee  shows  that  a  large  part  of  the  obstacles  to  the  suc- 
cessful recovery  of  American  vessels  in  competition  with 
English  ships  may  be  overcome  by  modifying  our  shipping 
laws,  removing  burdens,  and  giving  the  same  privileges  as 
to  ships'  supplies  and  the  same  compensation  as  to  mail  ser- 
vice as  the  English  laws  have  given  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. Up  to  1854  the  English  laws  relating  to  shipping  were 
substantially  the  same  as  ours.  At  that  time  the  English 
Parliament  began  a  complete  revision  of  her  merchant  ship- 
ping statutes,  so  as  to  remove  every  obstacle  and  give  every 
facility  to  British  shipping,  and  from  year  to  year,  as  the 
Board  of  Trade  has  recommended,  England  has  been  legis- 
lating in  the  interest  of  her  merchant  marine.  During  this 
whole  period  nothing  has  been  done  by  the  American  Con- 
gress to  meet  England  in  this  direction.  Our  merchant 
shipping  laws  remain  substantially  the  same  as  they  were 
originally  framed  more  than  four  score  years  ago.  They 
were  all  that  were  needed  so  long  as  the  English  laws  were  the 
same.  Our  error  was  in  not  imitating  England,  so  as  to  give 
our  merchant  marine  the  same  advantages  in  this  respect 
that  English  shipping  enjoys  ;  and  our  further  error  was  that 
when  steamships  began  to  take  the  place  of  sailing  vessels 
we  did  not  also  imitate  England  in  extending  the  same  en- 
couragement for  the  establishment  of  American  steamship 
lines  that  she  did  for  her  own,  although  the  adoption  of  such 
a  policy  after  England  has  intrenched  herself  in  her  position 
on  the  ocean  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  your  committee  be- 
lieve would  gradually  work  most  beneficial  results.  At  least 
it  would  remove  all  legislative  obstructions  to  the  revival  of 
our  foreign  carrying  trade,  and  would  leave  American  enter- 
prise and  capital  free  to  enter  into  competition  for  a  due 


200  APPENDIX. 

share  of  ocean  transportation.  Your  committee,  therefore, 
unanimously  recommend  a  modification  of  our  laws  relating 
to  the  American  merchant  marine  employed  in  the  foreign 
trade  in  the  following  particulars  : — 

THREE  MONTHS'  EXTRA  WAGES. 

Under  old  laws  enacted  at  a  time  when  the  sailors  of  our 
merchant  marine  were  all  American,  and  not,  as  now, 
ninety  per  cent,  foreigners  ;  when  shipping  agreements  were 
for  the  round  voyage,  and  not  as  now,  generally  from  port 
to  port ;  and  when  the  means  of  communication  abroad  with 
the  ports  of  the  United  States  were  infrequent  and  dilatory, 
an  American  vessel  from  which  a  seaman  is  discharged  by  a 
United  States  Consul  is  practically  required  to  pay  such  sea- 
man three  months'  extra  wages,  two-thirds  of  which  go  to 
the  seaman  and  one-third  to  the  Government.  The  facts 
brought  to  the  attention  of  your  committee  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  ship-owners,  masters,  and  others  made  it  clear  that 
what  was  formerly  a  wise  law,  rarely  appealed  to  by  any 
sailor,  has  now,  in  the  changed  condition  of  our  foreign  trade, 
become  a  serious  burden  on  American  vessels  and  a  positive 
injury  to  the  morals  of  the  crews.  The  burden  consists 
not  simply  in  the  large  amount  of  money  exacted,  but  also, 
and  more  injuriously,  in  the  annoying  delays  and  contentions 
arising  from  hearings  before  consuls  and  consular  officers. 
Your  committee  recommend  that  the  law  be  so  modified 
as  to  provide  that  the  vessel  shall  pay  one  month's  wages,  or 
provide  adequate  employment  on  a  returning  vessel,  or  pro- 
vide a  passage  home  to  a  seaman  discharged  from  an  Amer- 
can  vessel  in  a  foreign  port.  When  a  seaman  is  injured  in 
the  line  of  duty  or  contracts  disease  in  consequence  of  want 
of  proper  provision  on  shipboard,  the  vessel  is  only  to  be 
responsible  for  the  payment  of  all  the  expenses  of  sickness 
and  medical  attendance.  When  a  seaman  is  discharged  by 
the  United  States  Consul  in  the  port  which  he  expressly  con- 
tracted should  be  the  end  of  his  service,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  consular  officer  should  exact  extra  wages  from  the 


APPENDIX.  201 

vessel  under  any  pretext.  When  a  seaman  is  discharged  by 
the  Consul,  on  the  application  of  the  former,  there  seems  no 
just  ground  for  requiring  the  vessel  to  pay  extra  wages  except 
the  causes  named  in  the  bill  proposed,  and  in  no  other  case 
ought  the  Consul  to  have  power  to  exact  extra  wages  or 
charges  from  a  vessel.  To  give  every  consular  officer — many 
•of  them  foreigners — authority  to  impose  such  a  charge  upon 
a  vessel  whenever  a  discharge  is  granted  to  a  seaman  "  in 
accordance  with  the  general  principles  or  usages  of  maritime 
law,"  as  arbitrarily  construed  by  such  official,  without  the 
right  of  appeal,  as  section  4580  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of 
the  United  States  now  does,  is  to  put  an  improper  power 
into  the  hands  of  men  who  may  have  an  interest  in  the  de- 
cision, and  many  of  whom  in  the  smallef  and  more  remote 
ports  are  unfitted  to  exercise  so  broad  a  discretion.  No  other 
government  imposes  such  a  burden  on  its  merchant  marine, 
and  the  imposition  of  it  on  ours  works  in  practice  a  seri- 
ous discrimination  against  American  vessels.  In  reporting 
amendments  of  our  laws  in  this  direction  your  committee 
have  followed  the  English  law,  which  does  justice  to  the 
vessel  and  at  the  same  time  amply  protects  the  seamen. 

The  law  (section  4578,  Revised  Statutes)  as  it  now  stands 
compels  every  American  vessel  to  convey  wrecked,  disabled, 
or  destitute  American  sailors  from  a  foreign  port  to  the 
United  States  on  request  of  a  United  States  Consul,  and  al- 
lows not  exceeding  $10  for  this  service.  This  may  be  suffi- 
cient for  the  care,  transportation,  and  rations  of  a  disabled 
sailor  on  a  voyage  of  a  few  days,  but  for  a  long  voyage  im- 
poses a  serious  loss  on  the  vessel.  Your  committee  recom- 
mend an  amendment  of  this  law,  authorizing  the  collector  of 
the  port  in  the  United  States  where  the  seaman  is  landed  to 
pay  additional  compensation,  not  to  exceed  fifty  cents  per 
day,  in  cases  where  the  length  of  the  voyage  requires. 

Your  committee  further  recommend  a  prohibition  of  the 
payment  of  advance  wages  or  giving  advance  notes  on  the 
shipment  of  seamen.  As  is  well  known,  these  advance  wages 
almost  uniformly  go  to  the  sailor's  landlord,  who  is  thus  en- 


202  APPENDIX. 

abled  to  strip  the  seaman  not  only  of  the  wages  already 
earned  and  paid,  but  also  of  the  wages  which  he  is  yet  to 
earn  ;  worse  still,  it  is  the  fund  from  which  the  blood-money 
system  and  other  evils  come  that  are  a  shame  to  civilization. 
A  report  made  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Commerce  at  the  first  session  of  the  Forty-seventh 
Congress,  presents  the  necessity  of  this  legislation  so  clearly 
that  we  need  not  pursue  the  subject  further.  The  law  (sec- 
tion 4131,  Revised  Statutes)  requires  that  not  only  the  mas- 
ter or  captain,  but  also  all  other  officers  of  an  American  ves- 
sel, shall  under  all  circumstances  be  citizens  of  the  United 
States.  This  is  wise  as  to  the  master,  but  it  has  been  re- 
presented to  your  committee  that  cases  frequently  arise  in 
which  one  of  the  mates  dies  or  is  disabled,  when  it  is  neces- 
sary to  supply  his  place  with  an  experienced  foreign  seaman. 
Your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  no  useful  end  is  ad- 
vanced by  a  requirement  which  fetters  an  American  vessel 
in  the  foreign  trade,  and  therefore  recommends  the  modifica- 
tion of  the  laws  so  as  to  apply  only  to  captains  and  masters. 
Under  existing  law  the  liability  of  a  part  owner  of  a  vessel 
is  that  of  a  partner  and  therefore  unlimited.  The  English 
law  limits  the  liability  of  a  part  owner  of  a  vessel  to  the  pro- 
portion of  any  and  all  debts  and  liabilities  that  his  individual 
share  of  the  vessel  bears  to  the  whole,  on  the  ground  that  as 
the  business  of  a  vessel  must  necessarily  be  committed  to  an 
agent  removed  from  his  principals,  as  in  a  corporation,  it  is 
just  that  the  part  owner  should  be^equired  as  a  shareholder 
rather  than  as  a  partner.  As  it  appears  to  your  committee 
that  our  law  bears  too  heavily  on  the  part  owner  of  a  vessel 
and  discourages  investments  in  vessel  property,  your  com- 
mittee recommend  the  adoption  of  substantially  the  English 
principle  of  limited  liability.  The  excellent  marine  hospital 
service  in  the  United  States  is  supported  by  a  tax  of  forty 
cents  per  month  on  each  seaman  in  both  foreign  and  coast- 
wise marine  (section  4585,  Revised  Statutes),  which  is  paid 
by  the  vessel  and  deducted  from  the  seaman's  wages.  Be- 
fore 1871  this  tax  was  twenty  cents  per  month.  As  the  in- 


APPENDIX.  203 

direct  effect  of  this  tax  is  to  give  English  vessels,  which  are 
not  required  to  pay  a  hospital  tax,  an  advantage  in  hiring 
seamen,  if  it  does  not  increase  the  wages  of  seamen  on  Amer- 
ican vessels,  your  committee  recommend  the  reduction  of 
the  tax  to  the  former  limit  of  twenty  cents. 

Your  committee  recommend  the  abolition  of  the  tonnage 
tax  as  to  vessels  engaged  in  trade  with  the  Dominion  of 
Canada.  The  law  now  practically  exempts  from  this  tax  a 
large  portion  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  this  trade  on  the 
lakes,  and  inasmuch  as  the  trade  is  in  the  nature  of  a  coast- 
wise trade  and  carried  on  in  direct  competition  with  railroads, 
justice  seems  to  require  that  the  exemption  be  made  general 
so  far  as  the  trade  with  Canada  is  concerned. 

Under  the  laws  consular  officers  are  paid  from  the  fund 
derived  from  fees  exacted  from  American  ships  and  mer- 
chants in  foreign  ports.  Indeed,  in  1882,  not  only  was 
our  consular  service,  costing  $889,840,  paid  from  these 
fees,  but  also  $51,018  surplus  was  left  in  the  Treasury  for 
application  to  other  government  expenses.  About  $100,000 
of  these  fees  came  from  American  shipping.  In  the  same 
period  England  appropriated  over  $1,000,000  from  her 
Treasury  for  the  support  of  her  consular  service,  which  is 
maintained  in  every  port  of  the  world  mainly  to  extend 
British  commerce  and  aid  British  shipping.  The  charges 
imposed  by  the  British  consular  officers  on  English  vessels 
are  very  small. 

Your  committee  think  it  would  be  wise  to  abolish  all  fees 
for  services  to  American  vessels  and  sailors,  even  if  this  in- 
volves a  slight  charge  on  the  Treasury  for  the  maintenance 
of  our  consular  system  for  the  present  and  until  a  system  of 
paying  all  consular  officers  by  salaries  can  be  arranged.  If 
thought  proper,  such  officers,  when  paid  in  whole  or  in  part 
by  fees,  may  be  required  to  make  a  detailed  report  to  the 
State  Department  of  service  performed  to  American  vessels 
and  sailors,  with  the  fees  heretofore  allowed  for  such  ser- 
vices, and  be  allowed  from  the  Treasury  the  same  amount 
which  they  would  have  received  under  the  fee  system. 


204  APPENDIX. 

Our  laws  authorize  the  importation  in  bond  free  of  duty 
of  all  materials  needed  for  the  repair  of  vessels  engaged  in 
the  foreign  carrying  trade,  but  they  make  no  provision  for  a 
similar  rebate  of  duty  on  ships'  supplies  of  vessels  engaged 
in  such  foreign  trade  as  do  the  English  laws.  Your  com- 
mittee recommend  an  amendment  of  section  2514  so  as 
cover  ships'  supplies  as  well  as  materials  for  repairs. 

The  law  as  it  exists  (section  3976,  R.  S.)  compels  the 
master  of  every  American  vessel  engaged  in  the  foreign 
trade  to  carry  such  United  States  mails  as  may  be  tendered 
him  by  the  Post-office  Department,  and  allows  him  as 
compensation  for  such  service  a  sum  not  exceeding  two 
cents  per  letter  carried.  In  no  case  is  this  an  adequate 
compensation  and  in  some  instances  it  does  not  pay  the  cost 
to  the  vessel  of  delivering  the  mails  at  the  post-office  in  the 
port  of  arrival.  The  pay  to  United  States  vessels  in  the  for- 
eign trade  for  transporting  the  mails  in  1880  was  only  T.\  cents 
per  mile,  while  at  the  same  time  the  steamers  on  our  coast 
which  contracted  to  carry  the  mails  received  57^  cents  per 
mile  for  the  mail  service.  The  contrast  between  our  inade- 
quate mail  pay  to  American  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign 
trade  and  the  very  liberal  mail  pay  given  by  Great  Britain 
to  her  steamship  lines  only  serves  to  show  more  clearly  the 
injustice  and  unwisdom  of  our  policy.  Since  1840  England 
has  paid  -more  than  $250,000,000  for  mail  service,  with  the 
deliberate  purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining  steam- 
ship lines  to  connect  the  United  Kingdom  with  all  parts  of 
the  world.  In  one  year  she  has  paid  about  $3,000,000  to  her 
steamship  lines  for  mail  service,  which  was  $1,641,300  more 
than  she  received  from  mail  matter  transported  by  them. 

As  this  subject  is  before  the  Postal  Committee  of  both 
the  Senate  and  the  House,  we  .refrain  from  reporting  any 
legislation,  but  unanimously  recommend  such  a  modification 
of  our  laws  as  will  give  fair  compensation  to  American  ves- 
sels in  the  foreign  trade  which  may  carry  our  mails,  and 
adequate  pay  for  mail  service  to  American  steamship  lines 
that  are  already  or  may  be  hereafter  established. 


APPENDIX.  205 

TAXATION  OF  VESSELS   BY  STATE  AUTHORITY. 

There  is  no  one  thing  that  has  had  more  to  do  in  render- 
ing it  difficult  to  sail  an  American  vessel  in  competition 
with  an  English  steamship  than  the  different  system  of  tax- 
ation of  shipping  as  well  as  other  invested  capital  in  the  two 
countries.  The  English  system  of  taxation  is  on  incomes  ; 
ours  on  the  value  of  the  property.  For  example,  a  steam- 
ship valued  at  $500,000  and  earning  eight  per  cent,  net,  or 
$40,000  annually,  would  pay  in  England  an  income  tax  of 
about  two  per  cent.,  or  only  $800.  A  similar  steamship, 
under  the  laws  of  every  State  but  Massachusetts  and  New. 
York  (which  have  recently  exempted  vessels  from  local  tax- 
ation engaged  in  the  foreign  trade),  and  possibly  Pennsyl- 
vania, would  pay  a  tax  of  about  two  per  cent,  on  the  value,  or 
$10,000.  Thus  in  the  single  item  of  taxation  the  steamship 
under  the  English  flag  would  have  every  year  an  advantage 
oT  $9,200,  which  in  so  close  a  business  as  the  foreign  carry- 
ing trade  would  of  itself  be  enough  to  make  it  impossible  to 
sail  an  American  steamship  in  competition  with  an  English 
rival. 

Your  committee  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  of 
vital  importance  to  the  revival  of  the  American  foreign  car- 
rying trade  that  this  difficulty  should  be  removed  either  by 
State  or  federal  legislation. 

Your  committee  think  that  the  element  of  local  taxation 
enters  so  largely  into  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  sailing 
American  vessels,  that  it  is  incumbent  on  Congress  to  exer- 
cise the  power  of  regulating  commerce,  which  it  possesses 
under  the  constitution,  to  the  extent  of  prohibiting  State 
and  municipal  taxation  of  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign 
trade. 

BUREAU  OF  COMMERCE  AND  NAVIGATION. 

The  English  merchant  marine  and  English  commerce 
have  been  greatly  aided  by  the  watchful  supervision  and 
regulations  of  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  whose  president 


206  APPENDIX. 

is  a  member  of  the  Cabinet.  In  the  executive  department 
of  our  Government  we  have  no  board  or  bureau  with  similar 
duties  and  power,  and  none  which  is  required  by  law  to  even 
keep  a  watchful  eye  over  the  interests  of  our  shipping,  except 
for  purposes  of  collecting  the  revenues.  Whether  it  would 
not  be  wise  to  establish  in  the  Treasury  Department  a  Bu- 
reau or  Board  of  Commerce  and  Navigation,  of  which  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  be  the  official  head,  with 
powers  and  duties  in  some  respects  akin  to  those  of  the 
British  Board  of  Trade,  is  already  under  consideration  by 
the  Committees  on  Commerce  of  the  Senate  and  House, 
and  will  undoubtedly  receive  the  attention  it  deserves. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  your  committee  to  dwell  on  the  great 
importance  of  any  and  all  legislative  measures  that  will  tend 
to  a  revival  of  the  American  foreign  carrying  trade  and  a 
restoration  of  the  American  flag  to  a  position  on  the  ocean 
commensurate  with  our  population,  wealth,  and  rank  in  the 
family  of  nations. 

The  problem  presented  to  Congress  involves  interests  of 
exceptional  importance  ;  the  great  agricultural  interests  of 
the  West  and  South  are  especially  concerned.  To-day  at 
least  eighty-five  per  cent  of  their  products  exported  to 
other  countries  depend  on  foreign  vessels,  mainly  English, 
for  transportation  ;  and  unless  something  is  speedily  done 
to  relieve  American  shipping  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade, 
our  dependence  on  English  ocean  steamers  will  be  com- 
plete. This  places  our  commerce  at  the  mercy  of  England. 
In  case  of  war  between  that  country  and  another  power  able 
to  put  cruisers  on  the  ocean,  American  farmers  and  Ameri- 
can people  as  a  whole  would  suffer  nearly  as  much  as  the 
belligerents  by  having  their  exports  and  imports  in  British 
bottoms  liable  to  capture  and  confiscation.  In  its  material 
aspects  the  shipping  problem  is  national  and  in  no  sense 
local. 

It  is  more  than  a  business  question.  It  is  one  which 
affects  our  rank  and  influence  as  a  nation.  A  nation  is 
known  and  felt  outside  of  its  own  boundaries  more  by  the 


APPENDIX.  207 

flag  which  floats  at  the  masthead  of  its  merchant  marina 
than  by  anything  else.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  loss 
which  we  suffer,  not  only  in  national  prestige,  but  also  in 
commercial  importance,  by  the  infrequency  with  which 
American  vessels  appear  in  foreign  ports. 

The  problem  concerns  our  national  independence  and 
safety.  In  modern  times  the  seal  of  power  of  every  nation 
is  on  the  rocking  waves  as  well  as  on  the  solid  land.  The 
naval  power  of  every  country  will  in  the  long  run  be  pro- 
portionate to  its  merchant  marine.  In  building  up  our 
foreign  carrying  trade,  therefore,  we  strengthen  the  defences 
of  the  nation  and  give  new  security  to  our  Republic. 

While  some  of  the  members  of  your  committee  do  not 
concur  in  all  the  statements  and  reasonings  of  the  fore- 
going report,  and  would  recommend  additional  legislation, 
yet  all  concur  in  recommending  the  passage  of  the  accom- 
panying bill. 

O.  D.  CONGER,  Chairman. 

WARNER  MILLER. 

G.  G.  VEST. 

H.  J.  PAGE. 

GEORGE  M.  ROBESON. 

NELSON  DINGLEY,  JR. 

ROBERT  M.  MCLANE. 

S.  S.  Cox. 


APPENDIX    II. 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CARRYING  TRADE.— 
AN  ANSWER  TO  THE  QUESTIONS  OF  THE  JOINT 
COMMITTEE  OF  CONGRESS,  APPOINTED  TO  INQUIRE 
INTO  THE  CONDITION  AND  WANTS  OF  AMERICAN 
SHIP-BUILDING  AND  SHIP-OWNING  INTERESTS. 

By  JOHN  CODMAN. 

MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

Although  I  have  not  seen  the  text  of  the  joint  resolution 
authorizing  the  appointment  of  your  committee,  it  is  grati- 
fying to  be  able  to  infer  from  the  circular  I  have  the  honor 
to  receive  from  you,  that  you  have  been  delegated  to  con- 
sider two  separate  and  distinct  questions  which  Congress 
has  heretofore  regarded  as  united.  Ship-building  is  one 
industry,  ship-owning  is  another.  It  is  desirable  that  our 
country  should  have  both  ;  but  if  we  cannot  have  the  for- 
mer, you  will  admit  that  it  is  folly  to  deprive  ourselves  of 
the  latter. 

Your  first  question  is  : 

Why  cannot  this  country  build  iron,  steel,  or  wooden  ves- 
sels as  well  and  as  cheaply  as  tJiey  are  built  in  Scotland, 
England,  or  other  countries  ? 

ANSWER.  We  can  and  do  build  wooden  vessels  as  well 
and  as  cheaply  as  vessels  of  a  good  quality  are  built  else- 
where, and  cheaper  than  they  can  be  built  in  Great  Britain. 
It  was  for  this  very  reason,  in  days  before  the  era  of  exten- 
sive iron  ship-building,  that  England  repealed  her  navigation 
laws,  which  were  then  similar  to  our  own,  in  order  that  her 
people  might  still  have  their  share  of  the  carrying  trade, 


APPENDIX.  2O9 

even  if  they  could  not  compete  in  ship-building  ;  an  exam, 
pie  that  now,  when  circumstances  are  reversed,  we  would 
do  well  to  imitate.  In  wooden  ship-building  the  proportion 
of  cost  in  material  as  compared  with  labor  is  far  greater 
than  in  iron  ship-building.  The  cost  of  plant  is  infinitely 
less,  and  the  cheapness  of  the  wood  compensates  for  the 
difference  of  labor.  Finally,  this  part  of  the  question  may 
be  set  at  rest  by  considering  the  small  demand  there  is  now 
for  wooden  ships  for  the  great  purposes  of  ocean  commerce. 

We  cannot  build  iron  and  steel  vessels  as  well  as  they  are 
built  elsewhere,  partly  because  competition  is  wanting.  We 
need  abundant  foreign  as  well  as  the  extremely  limited  home 
competition  that  we  have,  in  order  to  arouse  the  talent  and 
energy  of  our  own  ship-builders. 

We  cannot  build  ships  as  cheaply  for  reasons  that  the 
ship-builders  themselves  assign.  Mr.  Roach  has  repeatedly 
stated  that  90  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  an  iron  steamship  is 
labor,  and  he  has  printed  a  table  in  one  of  his  pamphlets 
going  to  show  that  the  cost  of  labor  in  this  country  is  double 
the  cost  of  labor  in  Scotland.  The  following  schedule,  in- 
tended as  an  argument  for  protection,  from  a  recent  num- 
ber of  Our  Continent,  purports  to  corroborate  his  statement 
in  the  latter  respect.  If  both  assumptions  are  strictly  true, 
your  question  is  abundantly  answered. 

"  COST  OF  SHIP-BUILDING  IN   ENGLAND   AND   AMERICA. 

"  In  a  ship-yard,  to  build  an  iron  ship,  thirty-six  classes 
of  mechanics  are  employed,  and  these  handle  the  raw  ma- 
terial after  it  is  made  into  shape.  Let  them  be  divided,  for 
brevity's  sake,  into  five  departments,  viz.:  Ship-yard  de- 
partment, with  fourteen  different  grades  of  employment  ; 
steam-engine  department,  numbering  seven  grades  ;  boiler 
department,  seven  ;  iron  and  brass  foundry  department, 
four  grades  each.  In  the  first  department  the  highest  wages 
paid  go  to  the  shipsmith,  and  the  lowest  to  the  rivet  boys. 
In  the  United  States  the  shipsmith  receives,  per  week, 


2  tO  APPENDIX. 

$15.95  5  m  England  $6.05  ;  the  rivet  boy  here  gets  $3.30, 
and  abroad,  $1.69.  In  the  steam-engine  department  the 
draughtsman  with  us  receives  $19.80;  in  England  he  has 
$8.22.  A  helper  in  this  department  in  this  country  gets 
$8.80;  in  England  and  in  Scotland,  $3.87.  In  the  boiler 
department  in  the  United  States  a  flange-turner  gets  $16.50; 
the  same  man  abroad  gets  $6.20.  A  loam  moulder  in  the 
iron  foundry  here  gets  $16.50;  in  England,  $6.50.  Brass- 
moulders  with  us  receive  $14.30,  and  in  England  $6. 15.  The 
total  week's  wages  of  thirty -six  men  in  England  would  be 
$192.60,  while  in  the  United  States  their  wages  would  be 
$406.01.  In  a  ship-yard,  in  good  times,  both  here  and  in 
England,  which  might  employ  2,000  men,  they  would  receive 
in  that  case  with  us  $22,540,  and  in  England  or  on  the 
Clyde  only  $10,700." 

Of  the  cost  of  a  $500,000  steamship,  according  to  Mr. 
Roach's  estimate,  $450,000  would  be  for  labor  in  England. 
The  same  labor  here  would  cost  $900,000 !  A  manifest  ab- 
surdity, and  yet  a  logical  deduction."  Both  statements  are 
greatly  exaggerated,  while  there  is  truth  enough  in  them  to 
meet  your  question.  I  once  examined  the  books  of  Messrs. 
Denny  and  Co.,  the  builders  of  the  Parthia,  Cunard's  steam- 
ship of  3,000  tons,  at  Dumbarton,  Scotland.  Her  cost  was 
about  ,£100,000  ($500,000). 

There  was  162,500  days'  work  done  upon  her,  in  which  I 
do  not  include  the  manufacture  of  the  iron  from  the  pig,  nor 
the  making  of  the  sailcloth,  ropes,  etc.,  but  given  the  plates, 
angle  iron,  canvas,  cordage,  and  all  other  materials  as  they 
come  from  the  makers'  hands  ready  to  go  into  the  compo- 
sition of  the  ship. 

At  that  time  there  was  about  a  dollar  in  gold  difference 
per  day  between  the  average  Scotch  and  average  American 
wages.  Both  have  since  increased,  but  the  ratio  of  differ- 
ence holds  good.  Of  course,  on  account  of  our  tariff,  the 
iron  as  well  as  all  other  materials,  excepting  the  wood  used, 
cost  considerably  more  here  than  in  Scotland.  But  that  is 


APPENDIX.  211 

a  matter  of  comparatively  small  account.  There  was  only 
about  1,750  tons'  weight  of  iron  in  that  ship,  and  a  few  dol- 
lars' difference  in  its  cost  is  a  mere  bagatelle  when  merged 
in  $500,000. 

Not  considering  it  at  all,  then,  the  cost  of  such  a  ship  if 
built  here  would  be  $162,500  more  than  if  built  in  Scotland, 
besides  which  if  the  difference  in  cost  of  the  iron  ab  initio, 
before  it  was  wrought  into  plates,  boiler  iron,  and  angle  iron, 
should  be  taken  into  account,  it  would  amount  to  a  great 
deal  more.  But  putting  the  lowest  estimate  of  difference, 
these  figures  show  that  it  is  more  than  30  per  cent.  Yet  in 
the  face  of  his  own  superabundant  calculations,  and  these 
more  moderate  ones,  Mr.  Roach  has  frequently  stated  that 
the  difference  in  the  whole  cost  of  building  a  ship  is  only 
ten  per  cent. ! 

The  only  reply  that  has  been  made  to  this  damaging  sum- 
ming up  is  that  all  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  ship-building, 
excepting  about  10  per  cent.,  is  overcome  by  the  superiority 
of  American  workmanship,  the  advantages  of  American 
iron,  and  improvements  in  American  machinery.  As  to 
the  first,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  comes  from  a  gen- 
tleman of  Irish  birth  and  raising,  and  that  nearly  all  his 
employes  are  Irishmen  or  Scotchmen,  many  of  them  im- 
ported from  the  ship-yards  of  Great  Britain.  As  for  the 
superiority  of  American  machinery,  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  in  Great  Britain  there  is  neither  a  tariff  on  American 
iron  nor  on  American  ideas.  If  our  iron  would  serve  their 
purpose  better  than  their  own,  the  astute  Scotsmen  would 
surely  import  it,  and  where,  in  consequence  of  the  competi- 
tion among  themselves,  every  labor-saving  invention  is 
eagerly  adopted,  we  may  be  sure  that  no  false  national 
pride  would  prevent  its  introduction,  even  if  it  came  from 
the  Delaware. 

One  curious  inconsistency  is  seen  in  the  complaints  of 
our  ship-builders,  who  assert  that  there  is  only  10  per  cent, 
against  them,  and  at  the  same  time  deprecate  the  importa- 
tion of  free  ships,  the  effect  of  which,  as  they  say,  very 


212  APPENDIX. 

possibly  with  truth,  would  be  to  advance  the  price  in  Scot- 
land 20  per  cent.  If  they  are  correct  in  both  premises, 
manifestly  the  American  ship-builder  would  have  an  advan- 
tage over  the  Scotsman  of  10  per  cent.,  and  again  neither 
British  law  nor  British  pride  would  prevent  Englishmen 
from  supplying  their  necessities  in  the  cheapest  market,  as 
they  now  do  when  they  require  wooden  ships. 

SECOND.  If  we  had  such  vessels  "without  cost  to  us,  cotild 
they  be  run  by  us  in  competition  with  those  of  other  countries 
who  build  their  own  vessels  and  run  them  with  their  own 
officers  and  crews,  without  a  modification  or  repeal  of  exist- 
ing laws  f 

ANSWER.  I  have  to  presume  that  this  question  is  seri- 
ously put.  When  wooden  sailing  vessels  were  the  carriers 
of  the  world,  I  have  already  shown  that  England  so  feared 
our  competition  that  she  repealed  her  restrictive  navigation 
laws.  We  competed  with  her  then  in  sailing  ships  under 
the  same  domestic  disabilities  that  we  now  bear.  I  am  not 
aware  that  our  tonnage  dues,  which  are  the  same  as  those 
levied  on  foreign  vessels,  were  less  "then  than  now.  We 
were  obliged  to  pay  duties  on  our  stores  and  shipchandlery 
under  various  tariffs,  all  of  them  bad  enough,  though  per- 
haps not  quite  so  outrageous  as  the  present  imposition.  We 
paid  our  captains  and  officers  higher  wages  than  other  na- 
tions paid  theirs,  and  we  fed  our  ships'  companies  better. 
As  to  sailors,  to  the  shame  of  a  nation  that  engaged  in  a 
civil  war  for  the  freedom  of  Southern  negroes,  they  are 
white  slaves,  everywhere  bought  of  landlords  in  our  sea- 
ports, who  sell  these  chattels  for  the  highest  prices  they  can 
get  to  American  and  foreign  vessels  alike.  So  there  is  no 
difference  there.  As  to  taxation,  in  some  States,  notably 
New  York  and  Massachusetts,  we  are  better  off  now  than 
we  have  ever  been,  for  these  States  have  passed  laws  ex- 
empting their  shipping  from  taxation  as  personal  property. 
In  England  it  is  not  taxed  as  personal  property,  but  its 
profits  come  under  the  income  tax,  which  does  not  exist 
with  us. 


APPENDIX.  213 

Our  consular  system  is  disgraceful.  It  always  has  been 
disgraceful,  but  it  is  no  more  so  now  than  it  ever  was.  It 
cannot  be  otherwise  without  an  application  of  civil  service 
reform,  with  continuance  in  office  dependent  on  fitness  and 
merit,  and  the  payment  of  consular  salaries  out  of  the  na- 
tional treasury  instead  of  out  of  the  pockets  of  ship-owners. 
As  to  port  dues  and  pilotage,  embraced  in  the  succeeding 
question,  but  forming  also  a  part  of  the  answer  to  this,  they 
are  no  more  than  foreigners  pay. 

Lastly,  in  the  days  of  wooden  sailing  ships,  when  we  com- 
peted so  advantageously  with  England,  nobody  proposed 
to  give  us  ships.  Like  Englishmen,  we  were  obliged  to  buy 
them.  Therein  is  precisely  the  advantage  that  all  foreigners 
have  of  us  now.  They  can  buy  ships  anywhere  with  their 
own  money  ;  we  cannot.  The  ships  would  certainly  be 
handsome  presents  if  a  generous  government  would  give  them 
to  us.  The  interest,  6  per  cent.,  and  insurance,  7  per  cent., 
on  a  steamship  valued  at  $500,000  would  amount  to  a  sav- 
ing of  $65,000  annually,  a  sum  large  enough  to  pay  all  her 
port  charges,  pilotage,  etc.,  at  home,  and  leave  a  consider- 
able residue  for  the  benefit  of  our  consuls  abroad.  But  as 
this  liberal  offer  is  not  likely  to  be  made,  we  will  be  con- 
tented to  pay  our  own  bills. 

Still,  it  would  be  desirable  to  have  these  petty  charges 
modified.  I  have  only  intended  to  show  that  they  are  not 
the  main  impediments  to  our  success. 

I  have  demonstrated  that  we  should  be  the  gainers  of 
$65,000  annually  on  every  $500,000  ship  which  some  fairy 
may  be  supposed  to  give  us.  Let  us  see  how  much  we 
should  save  If  we  acquired  the  ship  in  England  without 
supernatural  aid. 

Such  a  ship  would  cost  here  $650,000.  The  yearly  inter- 
est and  insurance  on  the  excess  of  $150,000  is  13  per  cent. 
The  wear  and  tear  and  depreciation  on  an  iron  steamship  is 
yearly  at  least  7  per  cent.  Therefore  it  would  be  7  per 
cent,  on  this  excess,  making  in  all  20  per  cent,  on  the 
$150,000,  which  would  be  $30,000. 


214  APPENDIX. 

Now,  that  amount,  although  less  than  half  of  the  $65,000 
we  should  gain  in  your  supposed  case,  is  still  much  more 
than  enough  in  this  real  case  to  cover  all  the  extra  charges 
to  which  we  are  subjected,  and  of  which  so  much  complaint 
is  made. 

THIRD.  What  modifications  of  existing  laws  or  -what  new 
laws  are  required  to  remove  discriminations  against  and 
burdens  upon  our  shipping  and  ship-owning  interests,  suck 
as  customs  dues,  port  dues,  consular  charges,  pilotage,  ton- 
nage, and  other  dues,  etc.  ? 

ANSWER.  I  have  already  considered  a  part  of  this  ques- 
tion. Please  read  sections  4131,  4132,  4133,  4134,  4135, 
4142,  4143,  4163,  4165,  4172,  of  our  navigation  laws,  and 
tell  us  if  in  the  maritime  code  of  any  other  nation  anything 
can  be  found  more  barbarous  and  stultifying.  What  better 
can  be  done  than  to  repeal  them  ? 

FOURTH.  Compare  the  laws  of  other  countries  with  our 
own  with  a  view  to  their  effect  upon  our  and  their  shipping 
and  ship-owning  interests. 

ANSWER.  To  institute  a  minute  comparison  would  be 
tedious  and  superfluous.  In  general,  the  laws  of  other 
countries  give  freedom  to  the  carrying  trade.  Ours  bind  it 
in  chains. 

FIFTH.  Shottld  our  navigation  laws  be  repealed  or  modi- 
fied, and  if  modified,  wherein  and  for  what  purpose  ? 

ANSWER.  Yes,  for  the  good  of  the  whole  country  they 
should  be  absolutely  repealed  ;  but  if  ship-building  for  the 
coasting  trade  is  still  to  be  protected  at  the  cost  of  the  com- 
munity, they  should  be  merely  so  modified  as  to  leave  that 
virtually  intact. 

SIXTH.  What  is  the  cost  of  the  component  materials  of 
iron,  steel,  or  wooden  vessels  in  other  countries  and  our  own  ? 

ANSWER.  In  general,  the  freight  and  duties  added  to 
their  cost  abroad  will,  with  a  small  percentage  of  profit,  in- 
dicate their  price  in  this  country. 

SEVENTH.  What  would  be  the  effect  of  a  rebate  on  any  or 
all  such  materials  f 


APPENDIX.  215 

ANSWER.  It  would,  if  ships  were  imported  free,  give  the 
domestic  ship-builder  an  opportunity  to  compete  if  he 
could  ;  but  there  is  no  more  reason  why  there  should  be  a 
rebate  on  parts  of  a  ship  than  on  a  ship  herself.  Let  both 
be  made  free. 

EIGHTH.  Present  any  other  statements  connected  'with  the 
cause  of  the  decline  of  the  American  foreign  carrying  trade 
and  what  remedies  can  be  applied  by  legislation. 

ANSWER.  The  sole  reason  for  the  decline  of  our  carrying 
trade  is  the  neglect  of  our  Government  to  pursue  the  same 
liberal  policy  that  other  nations  have  adopted.  No  farmer 
can  cultivate  his  ground  as  cheaply  as  his  neighbor,  unless  he 
can  have  his  implements  of  husbandry  on  as  favorable  terms. 
Let  him  make  them  if  he  can.  If  he  cannot  do  so  econom- 
ically he  must  buy  them,  or  his  farm  will  not  be  a  success. 

Of  all  propositions  for  the  restoration  of  our  general  car- 
rying trade,  the  subsidy  scheme  would  be  the  most  ineffec- 
tual. It  never  has  been  adopted  by  any  other  nation  for 
that  purpose.  It  must  be  apparent  to  any  unprejudiced 
mind  that  while  subsidies  may  be  needed  for  mail  service, 
and  for  mail  service  only,  the  subsidized  lines  tend  to  pre- 
ven^the  business  of  private  merchantmen  by  their  ability  to 
run  them  off.  Subsidies  are,  therefore,  for  individual  bene- 
fit, and  necessarily  opposed  to  the  benefit  of  the  public. 

The  means  I  would  propose  for  the  desired  object  are  the 
same  that  I  suggested  to  the  Congressional  Committee  ap- 
pointed in  1869,  and  have  steadily  adhered  to  from  that 
time.  They  are  as  follows  : 

ist.  The  admission  to  American  register  of  all  vessels  of 
over  3,000  tons. 

ad.  The  admission  of  all  materials  to  be  used  in  the  con- 
struction and  repairs  of  vessels  of  over  3,000  tons,  duty  free. 

3d.  Exemption  from  taxation,  local  and  national,  on  all 
vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade. 

4th.  Permission  for  all  American  vessels  in  the  foreign 
trade  to  take  their  stores  and  shipchandlery  out  of  bond 
duty  free. 


2l6  APPENDIX. 

5th.  A  general  revision  of  our  laws  relating  to  seamen,  and 
also  of  those  regulating  consular  service,  so  that  the  charges 
which  now  weigh  in  any  degree  on  American  shipping  at 
home  and  in  foreign  ports  may  be  diminished,  and  made  to 
accord  as  far  as  possible  with  those  imposed  under  the  Eng- 
lish system. 

I  have  suggested  a  limited  tonnage  which  will  not  materi- 
ally interfere  with  the  coasting  trade,  rather  than  the  admis- 
sion of  ships  to  be  used  in  the  foreign  trade  exclusively. 

The  reason  is  that  no  Americans  would  wish  to  own  ships 
whose  voyages  they  could  not  control.  If  they  could  not  use 
them  when  they  desired  to  do  so  in  the  coasting  trade,  they 
would  prefer  to  own  them  as  they  own  them  now  under  the 
British  flag,  because  it  is  more  economical,  and  they  are  pro- 
tected by  a  more  efficient  navy  than  ours. 

In  conclusion,  I  am  sorry  to  express  the  opinion  that,  do 
what  Congress  will  in  the  way  of  removing  our  burdens,  even 
to  the  extent  of  granting  absolute  freedom  and  copying  our 
navigation  laws  in  all  respects  after  those  of  England,  meas- 
ures that  would  have  been  eminently -successful  in  the  out- 
set, the  restoration  of  our  carrying  trade  will  be  a  labor  of 
years.  We  have  lost  our  prestige  and  experience  ;  we  are 
no  longer  a  maritime  nation  ;  our  ship-owners  have  been 
wearied  and  disgusted  ;  they  have  gone  into  other  business, 
forced  by  their  Government  to  abandon  their  old  calling. 
And  the  way  back  under  the  most  hopeful  conditions  must 
be  uphill  and  slow.  Our  ship-masters,  the  pride  of  the  ocean 
in  the  old  packet  days,  are  dead,  and  they  have  no  succes- 
sors. Congress,  by  its  supine  neglect,  has  all  this  for  which 
to  answer.  While  it  has  lent  a  listening  ear  to  bounty  and 
subsidy  seekers  intent  only  on  personal  gain,  its  committees 
have  never  been  willing  to  report  a  free  ship  bill,  nor  has 
the  Senate,  or  the  House,  allowed  the  subject  to  be  other- 
wise than  incidentally  debated. 

These,  gentlemen,  are  sober  truths,  and  I  appeal  to  you 
now  to  rectify  the  errors  of  the  past  so  far  as  it  is  in  your 
power. 


APPENDIX    III. 


FORTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS,  SECOND  SESSION. 
H.  R.  7061. 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.— January  13, 
1883.  Read  twice  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Com- 
merce February  23,  1883.  Reported  by  Mr.  Vest  with  amend- 
ments, viz.  :  Omit  the  parts  struck  through  and  insert  the 
parts  printed  in  italics. 


An  Act  to  remove  certain  burdens  on  the  American  mer- 
chant marine,  to  encourage  the  American  foreign  carry- 
ing trade,  and  to  amend  the  laws  relating  to  the  ship- 
ment and  discharge  of  seamen. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled, 
That  section  forty-one  hundred  and  thirty-one  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows  : 

"  SEC.  4131.  Vessels  registered  pursuant  to  law,  and  no 
others,  except  such  as  shall  be  duly  qualified  according  to 
law  for  carrying  on  the  coast  trade  and  fisheries,  or  one 
of  them,  shall  be  deemed  vessels  of  the  United  States,  and 
entitled  to  the  benefits  and  privileges  appertaining  to  such 
vessels  ;  but  they  shall  not  enjoy  the  same  longer  than  they 
shall  continue  to  be  wholly  owned  by  citizens  and  to  be  com- 
manded by  a  citizen  of  the  United  States." 

SEC.  2.  That  section  forty-two  hundred  and  nineteen  of 
the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  by  striking  out  the  follow- 


2l8  APPENDIX. 

ing  words  in  the  last  clause  :  "  And  any  vessel  any  officer 
of  which  shall  not  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  shall  pay 
a  tax  of  fifty  cents  per  ton." 

SEC.  3.  That  section  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty  of  the 
Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows  : 

"  Sec.  4580.  Upon  the  application  of  any  seaman  to  a 
consular  officer  for  a  discharge,  if  it  appears  to  such  officer 
that  said  seaman  is  entitled  to  his  discharge  under  any  act 
of  Congress  or  according  to  the  general  principles  or  usages 
of  maritime  law  as  recognized  in  the  United  States,  the  offi- 
cer shall  discharge  said  seaman,  and  require  from  the  mas- 
ter of  said  vessel,  before  such  discharge  shall  be  made,  pay- 
ment of  the  wages  which  may  then  be  due  said  seaman. 
When  a  seaman  is  discharged  by  reason  of  inability  to  per- 
form his  duties,  whether  in  consequence  of  illness  or  other 
causes,  the  master  shall  be  required  to  pay  him  only  the 
wages  due  at  the  time  of  discharge.  But  if  any  seaman  is 
discharged  in  consequence  of  any  hurt  or  injury  received 
while  in  the  service  of  the  ship,  or  illness  caused  by  a 
want  of  such  food,  water,  accommodations,  medicines,  or 
anti-scorbutics  as  are  required  by  law,  the  master  shall  be 
required  to  pay  the  expense  of  providing  the  necessary  sur- 
gical and  medical  advice,  with  attendance  and  medicines, 
until  said  seaman  is  cured,  or  dies,  or  is  brought  back  to 
some  port  in  the  United  States." 

SEC.  4.  That  section  forty-five  nundred  and  eighty-three 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Sec.  4583.  No  payment  of  extra  wages  shall  be  re- 
quired, upon  the  discharge  of  any  seaman  in  a  foreign 
country  upon  the  termination  of  his  agreement,  or  by  his 
own  request,  or  in  cases  where  vessels  are  wrecked  or 
stranded,  or  condemned  as  unfit  for  service.  If  any  consu- 
lar officer,  upon  the  complaint  of  any  seaman  that  he  has 
fulfilled  his  contract,  or  that  the  voyage  is  continued  con- 
trary to  his  agreement,  is  satisfied  that  the  contract  has 
expired,  or  that  the  voyage  has  not  been  continued  by  cir- 


APPENDIX.  219 

cumstances  within  the  control  of  the  master,  he  shall  dis- 
charge the  mariner;  but  in  case  the  consular  officer  shall 
be  satisfied  that  the  master  has  designedly  continued  the 
voyage,  he  shall  require  from  said  master  the  payment  of 
one  month's  extra  pay  over  and  above  the  wages  due  at  the 
time  of  discharge ;  but  in  case  the  master  of  the  vessel 
shall  provide  said  seaman  with  adequate  employment  on 
board  some  other  ship  bound  to  the  port  at  which  he  was 
originally  shipped,  or  to  some  other  port,  as  may  be  agreed 
upon  by  him,  or  furnish  the  means  of  sending  him  back  to 
such  port,  or  provide  him  with  a  passage  home,  or  deposit 
with  the  consular  officer  such  a  sum  of  money  as  is  by  such 
officer  deemed  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  sub- 
sistence and  passage  home,  then  no  payment  of  extra  wages 
shall  be  required." 

SEC.  5.  That  section  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty-two 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as 
follows  : 

"  Sec.  4582.  Whenever  a  vessel  belonging  to  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  is  sold  in  a  foreign  country,  and  her 
company  discharged,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  master  to 
produce  to  the  consul  or  officer  the  certified  list  of  his 
ship's  company,  and  also  the  shipping  articles,  and  to  pay 
to  said  consul  or  officer  for  every  seaman  so  discharged  one 
month's  pay  over  and  above  the  wages  which  may  then  be 
due  to  such  seaman  ;  but  in  case  the  master  of  the  vessel 
so  sold  shall  provide  such  seaman  with  adequate  employ- 
ment on  board  some  other  ship  bound  to  the  port  at  which 
he  was  originally  shipped,  or  to  such  other  port  as  may  be 
agreed  upon  by  him,  or  furnish  the  means  of  sending  him 
back  to  such  port,  or  provide  him  with  a  passage  home,  or 
deposit  with  the  consular  officer  such  a  sum  of  money  as  is 
by  such  officer  deemed  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
his  subsistence  and  passage  home,  then  no  payment  of 
extra  wages  shall  be  required." 

SEC.  6.  That  section  forty-six  hundred  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows  : 


22O  APPENDIX. 

"  Sec.  4600.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  consular  officers  to 
reclaim  deserters  and  discountenance  insubordination  by 
every  means  within  their  power,  and  where  the  local  authori- 
ties can  be  usefully  employed  for  that  purpose,  to  lend  their 
aid  and  use  their  exertions  to  that  end  in  the  most  effectual 
manner.  In  all  cases  where  deserters  are  apprehended 
consular  officers  shall  inquire  into  the  facts  ;  and  if  he  is 
satisfied  that  the  desertion  was  caused  by  unusual  or  cruel 
treatment,  the  seaman  shall  be  discharged,  and  receive  in 
addition  to  his  wages  to  the  time  of  his  discharge,  one 
month's  pay,  or  the  master  shall  provide  him  with  adequate 
employment  on  board  some  other  ship  bound  to  the  port  at 
which  he  was  originally  shipped,  or  to  such  other  port  as 
may  be  agreed  upon  by  him,  or  furnish  the  means  of  send- 
ing him  back  to  such  port,  or  provide  him  with  a  passage, 
home,  or  deposit  with  the  consular  officer  such  a  sum  of 
money  as  is  by  such  officer  deemed  sufficient  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  his  subsistence  and  passage  home.  And  the 
officer  discharging  him  shall  enter  upon  the  crew-list  and 
shipping-articles  the  cause  of  discharge  and  the  particulars 
in  which  the  cruelty  or  unusual  treatment  consisted,  and 
the  facts  as  to  his  discharge,  or  re-engagement,  as  the  case 
may  be,  and  subscribe  his  name  thereto  officially." 

SEC.  7.  That  section  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty-one 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Sec.  4581.  That  if  any  consular  officer,  when  dis- 
charging any  seaman,  shall  neglect  to  require  the  pay- 
ment of  and  collect  the  extra  wages  and  charges  required 
to  be  paid  in  the  case  of  the  discharge  of  any  seaman, 
he  shall  be  accountable  to  such  seaman  to  the  full  amount 
thereof ;  and  if  any  seaman  shall,  after  his  discharge,  have 
incurred  any  expense  for  board  or  oilier  necessaries  at  the 
place  of  his  discharge,  before  shipping  again,  such  expense 
shall  be  paid  out  of  the  wages  to  which  he  shall  be  entitled, 
which  shall  be  retained  for  that  purpose,  and  the  balance 
only  paid  over  to  him." 


APPENDIX.  221 

SEC.  8.  That  section  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty-four 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows: 

"  Sec.  4584.  Whenever  any  consular  officer,  upon  the 
discharge  of  any  seaman,  receives  the  wages  due  to  said 
seaman,  he  shall  at  once  pay  the  same  to  the  said  seaman, 
except  as  provided  by  section  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty- 
one  of  the  Revised  Statutes." 

SEC.  9.  That  section  forty-five  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as 
follows  : 

"  Sec.  4578.  All  masters  of  vessels  belonging  to  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  bound  to  some  port  of  the  same, 
are  required  to  take  such  destitute  seaman  on  board  their 
vessels,  at  the  request  of  the  consuls,  vice-consuls,  com- 
mercial agents,  or  vice-commercial  agents,  respectively, 
and  to  transport  them  to  the  port  in  the  United  States  to 
which  such  vessel  may  be  bound,  on  such  terms,  not  ex- 
ceeding ten  dollars  for  each  person,  as  may  be  agreed  be- 
tween the  master  and  the  consul  or  officer.  But  for  long 
voyages  and  peculiar  disabled  condition  of  such  seamen, 
there  shall  be  allowed  to  the  master  or  owner  of  such  vessel 
such  reasonable  compensation,  not  to  exceed  thirty  cents 
per  day,  in  addition  to  the  allowances  herein  provided,  as 
shall  be  deemed  equitable  by  the  collector  of  the  port  in 
the  United  States  which  the  vessel  may  first  reach,  the  same 
to  be  paid  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Every  such  master  who  re- 
fuses the  same,  on  the  request  or  order  of  such  consul  or 
officer,  shall  be  liable  to  the  United  States  in  a  penalty  of 
one  hundred  dollars  for  each  seaman  so  refused.  The  cer- 
tificate of  any  such  consul  or  officer,  given  under  his  hand 
and  official  seal,  shall  be  presumptive  evidence  of  such 
refusal  in  any  court  of  law  having  jurisdiction  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  penalty.  No  master  of  any  vessel  shall,  how- 
ever, be  obliged  to  take  a  greater  number  than  two  men  to 
every  one  hundred  tons  burden  of  the  vessel  on  any  one 
voyage." 


222  APPENDIX. 

SEC.  10.  That  no  fees  shall  hereafter  be  charged  by  any 
consular  officer  for  any  certificate,  manifest,  or  other  official 
service  to  American  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade,  or 
to  the  owners,  officers,  or  seamen  of  such  vessels.  Con- 
sular officers  who  are  now  paid  in  whole  or  in  part  by  fees 
shall  make  a  detailed  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  services  performed  in  accordance  with  this  sec- 
tion, with  the  fees  heretofore  allowed  in  such  cases,  and 
shall  be  entitled  to  receive  the  amount  thereof  in  the  same 
manner  as  is  provided  by  law  in  case  of  other  compensation 
payable  by  the  United  States. 

SEC.  ii.  That  it  shall  be,  and  is  hereby,  made  unlawful 
in  any  case  to  pay  any  seaman  wages  in  advance  of  the  time 
when  he  has  actually  earned  the  same,  or  to  pay  such  ad- 
vance wages  to  any  other  person,  or  to  pay  any  person  any 
remuneration  for  the  shipment  of  seamen.  Any  person 
paying  such  advance  wages  or  such  remuneration  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  shall 
be  punished  by  a  fine  not  less  than  four  times  the  amount 
of  the  wages  so  advanced  or  remuneration  so  paid,  and  may 
be  also  imprisoned  for  a  period  not  exceeding  six  months, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  court.  The  payment  of  such  ad- 
vance wages  or  remuneration  shall  in  no  case  absolve  the 
steamer,  ship,  or  vessel,  or  the  master  or  owner  thereof, 
from  full  payment  of  wages  after  the  same  shall  have  been 
actually  earned,  and  shall  be  no  defence  to  a  libel,  suit,  or 
action  for  the  recovery  of  such  wages  :  Provided,  That  this 
section  shall  not  apply  to  such  fees  as  by  any  law  of  the 
United  States  may  be  collected  by  any  shipping  commis- 
sioner or  other  officer  of  the  United  States  for  the  shipment 
of  seamen  :  And  provided  further,  That  this  section  shall 
not  apply  to  vessels  engaged  in  the  whaling  business.  This 
section  shall  apply  as  well  to  foreign  vessels  as  to  vessels  of 
the  United  States  ;  and  any  foreign  vessel  the  master, 
owner,  consignee,  or  agent  of  which  has  violated  this  sec- 
tion, or  induced  or  connived  at  its  violation,  shall  be  refused 
a  clearance  from  any  port  of  the  United  States.  It  shall  be 


APPENDIX.  223 

lawful,  however,  for  any  seaman  to  stipulate  in  his  shipping 
agreement  for  the  allotment  of  any  portion  of  the  wages 
which  he  may  earn  to  his  wife,  father,  mother,  grandfather, 
grandmother,  child,  grandchild,  brother,  or  sister,  or  to  any 
savings  bank  for  the  benefit  of  such  seaman,  and  to  no 
other  person  or  corporation. 

SEC.  12.  That  every  vessel  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
section  shall  also  be  provided  with  a  slop-chest,  which  shall 
contain  a  complement  of  clothing  for  the  intended  voy- 
age for  each  seaman  employed,  including  boots  or  shoes, 
hats  or  caps,  under  clothing  and  outer  clothing,  oiled  cloth- 
ing, and  everything  necessary  for  the  wear  of  a  seaman ; 
also  a  full  supply  of  tobacco  and  blankets.  Any  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  slop-chest  shall  be  sold,  from  time  to  time,  to 
any  or  every  seaman  applying  therefor,  for  his  own  use,  at 
a  profit  not  exceeding  twenty-five  per  centum  of  the  reason- 
able wholesale  value  of  the  same  at  the  port  at  which  the 
voyage  commenced. 

SEC.  13.  That  all  masters  and  owners  of  vessels  shall 
have  the  right  to  ship  and  pay  off  the  men  they  employ,  and 
that  all  laws  or  parts  of  laws  requiring  the  payment  of  any 
remuneration  to  the  shipping  commission  for  the  shipment 
of  seamen,  if  shipped  by  said  masters  or  owners,  be,  and 
the  same  are  hereby  repealed  :  Provided,  That  the  duties 
performed  by  the  shipping  commissioner  at  home  ports  shall 
be  performed  by  the  collector  of  the  several  ports  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  no  fee  shall  be  charged  for  said 
services. 

Sec.  14.  That  section  twenty-five  hundred  and  fourteen 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Sec.  2514.  That  all  materials  of  foreign  production  to  be 
manufactured  in  this  country  into  articles  needed  for,  and 
used  in  the  construction,  equipment,  repairs,  or  supplies  of 
American  vessels  employed,  or  to  be  employed,  exclusively 
in  the  foreign  trade,  including  the  trade  between  the  Atlan- 
tic ports  and  Pacific  ports  of  the  United  States,  may  be 


224  APPENDIX. 

withdrawn  from  bonded  warehouse  free  of  duty,  under  such 
regulations  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  prescribe  ; 
and  if  the  duty  shall  have  been  already  paid  upon  such  ma- 
terial so  used  the  same  shall  be  refunded  and  repaid  to  the 
owner  or  owners  of  such  vessels  so  using  them  or  to  their 
legal  representatives." 

SEC.  15.  That  in  lieu  of  all  duties  on  tonnage,  including 
light  money,  now  imposed  by  law,  a  duty  of  six  cents  per 
ton  is  hereby  imposed  at  each  entry  on  all  vessels  which 
shall  be  entered  in  the  United  States  from  the  West  India 
Islands,  or  from  any  port  or  place  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico, 
or  from  any  port  or  place  south  of  Mexico,  down  to  and  in- 
cluding Aspinwall  and  Panama,  or  from  any  port  or  place 
in  the  Dominion  of  Canada  ;  and  a  duty  of  twelve  cents  per 
ton  is  hereby  imposed  at  each  entry  on  all  vessels  which 
shall  be  entered  in  the  United  States  from  any  other  foreign 
port  :  Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  con- 
strued to  repeal  section  twenty-seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  of  the  Revised  Statutes  :  And  provided  also,  That  the 
aggregate  duty  imposed  under  this  section  in  any  one  year 
upon  any  vessel  engaged  in  no  other  foreign  trade  than  the 
trade  between  the  United  States  and  the  Dominion  of  Can- 
ada, or  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  or  any  ports  or  places  south 
of  Mexico,  down  to  and  including  Aspinwall  and  Panama, 
or  any  ports  or  places  in  the  West  India  Islands,  shall  not 
exceed  thirty  cents  per  ton. 

SEC.  1 6.  That  instead  of  the  assessment  of  forty  cents 
per  month  upon  seamen  engaged  in  the  foreign  carrying 
trade,  authorized  by  sections  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty- 
five,  and  forty-five  hundred  and  eighty-seven  of  the  Re- 
vised Statutes  of  the  United  States,  there  shall  hereafter  be 
assessed  and  collected  twenty  cents. 

SEC.  17.  That  the  individual  liability  of  a  ship-owner 
shall  be  limited  to  the  proportion  of  any  or  all  debts  and 
liabilities  that  his  individual  share  of  the  vessel  bears  to  the 
whole  ;  and  the  aggregate  liabilities  of  all  the  owners  of  a 
vessel  on  account  of  the  same  shall  not  exceed  the  value  of 


APPENDIX.  225 

such  vessels  :  Provided,  That  this  provision  shall  not  affect 
the  liability  of  any  owner  incurred  previous  to  the  passage 
of  this  act,  nor  prevent  any  claimant  from  joining  all  the 
owners  in  one  action  ;  nor  shall  the  same  apply  to  wages 
due  to  persons  employed  by  said  ship-owners. 

SEC.  1 8.  That  when  a  steam  or  sailing  vessel  is  built  in 
the  United  States  for  foreign  account,  wholly  or  partly  of 
foreign  materials,  on  which  import  duties  have  been  paid, 
there  shall  be  allowed  on  such  vessel,  when  exported,  a 
drawback  equal  in  amount  to  the  duty  paid  on  such  mate- 
rials, to  be  ascertained  under  such  regulations  as  may  be 
prescribed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Ten  per  cen- 
tum of  the  amount  of  such  drawback  so  allowed  shall,  how- 
ever, be  retained  for  the  use  of  the  United  States  by  the 
collector  paying  the  same. 

SEC.  19.  Whenever  any  fine,  penalty,  forfeiture,  exaction, 
or  charge  arising  under  the  laws  relating  to  vessels  or  sea- 
men has  been  paid  under  protest  to  any  collector  of  cus- 
toms or  consular  officer,  and  application  has  been  made 
within  one  year  from  such  payment  of  the  refunding  or  re- 
mission of  the  same,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  if  on 
investigation  he  finds  that  such  fine,  penalty,  forfeiture,  ex- 
action, or  charge  was  illegally,  improperly,  or  excessively 
imposed,  shall  have  the  power,  either  before  or  after  the 
same  has  been  covered  into  the  Treasury,  to  refund  so 
much  of  such  fine,  penalty,  forfeiture,  exaction,  or  charge 
as  he  may  think  proper,  from  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated. 

SEC.  20.  That  Section  twenty-nine  hundred  and  sixty-six 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  by  striking  out  the 
words  "  propelled  in  whole  or  in  part  by  steam  ;  "  so  that 
said  section  as  amended  shall  read  as  follows  : 

"  Sec.  2966.  When  merchandise  shall  be  imported  into 
any  port  of  the  United  States  from  any  foreign  country  in 
vessels,  and  it  shall  appear  by  the  bills  of  lading  that  the 
merchandise  so  imported  is  to  be  delivered  immediately 
after  the  entry  of  the  vessel,  the  collector  of  such  port  may 
IS 


226  APPENDIX. 

take  possession  of  such  merchandise  and  deposit  the  same 
in  bonded  warehouse  ;  and  when  it  does  not  appear  by  the 
bills  of  lading  that  the  merchandise  so  imported  is  to  be 
immediately  delivered,  the  collector  of  the  customs  may 
take  possession  of  the  same  and  deposit  it  in  bonded  ware- 
house, at  the  request  of  the  owner,  master,  or  consignee 
of  the  vessel,  on  three  days'  notice  to  such  collector  after 
the  entry  of  the  vessel." 

SEC.  21.  That  section  twenty-eight  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  by  adding  thereto 
the  following  : 

"  When  the  license  to  unload  between  the  setting  and 
rising  of  the  sun  is  granted  to  a  sailing  vessel  under  this 
section,  a  fixed,  uniform,  and  reasonable  compensation  may 
be  allowed  to  the  inspector  or  inspectors  for  service  be- 
tween the  setting  and  rising  of  the  sun,  under  such  regula- 
tions as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  prescribe,  to  be 
received  by  the  collector  from  the  master,  owner,  or  con- 
signee of  the  vessel,  and  to  be  paid  by  him  to  the  inspector 
or  inspectors." 

Sec.  22.  That  section  thirty -nine  hundred  and  seventy  - 
six  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  and  all 
other  compulsory  laws  and  parts  of  laws  that  oblige  Amer- 
ican vessels  to  carry  the  mails  of  the  United  States  arbitrarily , 
or  that  prevent  the  clearance  of  vessels  until  they  shall  have 
taken  mail  matter  on  board,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  re- 
pealed;  and  that  section  four  thousand  and  nine  of  the  Re- 
vised Statutes  of  the  United  States  be,  and  is  hereby, 
amended  and  re-enacted  so  as  to  read  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  Sec.  4009.  For  transporting  the  mails  of  the  United 
States  between  any  port  of  the  United  States  and  any  foreign 
port,  or  between  ports  of  the  Atlantic  and  ports  in  the 
Pacific,  touching  at  any  foreign  port,  a  sum  not  exceeding 
one  dollar  per  mile,  on  the  trip  each  way,  of  actual  nautical 
miles  travelled  between  terminal  points,  for  each  trip  ac- 
tually made  y  but  such  service  shall  be  performed  only  under 


APPENDIX.  227 

contract  entered  into  by  the  Postmaster-General,  after  legal 
advertisement,  with  the  lowest  responsible  bidder,  and  the  ag- 
gregate amount  to  be  expended  for  such  service  shall  not  ex- 
ceed one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 
The  ships  with  which  such  contracts  shall  be  made  shall  be 
ships  of  American  registry  only,  and  contracts  shall  be  for  a 
term  of  not  less  than  four  years  j  and  the  general  latvs  regu- 
lating the  transportation  of  inland  mails  shall  be  applicable 
to  such  contracts,  except  as  herein  provided.  And  all  vessels 
engaged  in  such  contracts  shall  in  time  of  war  be  subject  to 
purchase  or  charter  by  the  United  States  at  reasonable  rates  ; 
and  all  foreign  vessels  or  sailing  vessels  carrying  the  mails 
of  the  United  States  may  be  allowed  a  sum  not  exceeding 
the  sea  postage  now  allowed  by  law" 

SEC.  23.  That  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts  in  conflict  with 
this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

Passed  the  House  of  Representatives  January  12,  1883. 

Attest  :  EWD.  McPHERSON,  Clerk. 


APPENDIX    IV. 


NEW  YORK,  February  11,  1882. 

LIEUT.  CHARLES  BELKNAP,  U.S.N., 

Secretary  U.  S.  Naval  Institute,  Annapolis,  Md,  : 

SIR — The  undersigned  having  been  requested  to  serve  as 
Judges  to  determine  to  whom  shall  be  awarded  the  gold  medal 
and  prize  offered  by  the  Naval  Institute  for  the  best  essay  on 
the  subject  "  Our  Merchant  Marine  :  the  Causes  of  its  De- 
cline, and  the  Means  to  be  taken  for  its  Revival,"  have  ex- 
amined eleven  essays  submitted  in  competition.  Many  of 
them  have  much  merit ;  but  on  a  subject  of  the  broad  his- 
torical and  practical  nature  of  that  submitted  for  competi- 
tion, it  will  not  be  understood  that  in  indicating  any  of 
them,  the  undersigned  adopt  as  their  own  the  entirety  of 
the  views  therein  presented,  or  the  completeness  of  their 
conclusions  either  as  to  the  causes  of  decline  or  the  means 
for  revival.  They  are  prepared,  however,  to  designate  the 
essay  under  the  motto  "AY/  clarius  aquis"  l  as  combining 
the  most  merit,  and  as  worthy  of  the  prize. 

In  accordance  with  the  request  that  if  there  be  another 
essay,  or  others,  worthy  of  honorable  mention,  it  be  desig- 
nated, or  if  more  than  one,  they  be  mentioned  in  the  order 
of  merit,  the  undersigned  designate  the  essay  bearing  the 

1  The  essay  designated  by  this  motto  forms  that  portion  of  the 
"  Question  of  Ships  "  which  treats  of  the  restoration  of  the  Merchant 
Marine,  and  was  written  by  the  Author. 


APPENDIX.  229 

motto  "Mais  ilfaut  cultiver  notre  jardin"  as  second  in  the 
order  of  merit,  and  they  further  mention  those  bearing  the 
respective  mottoes  "  Causa  latet,  vis  est  notissima"  and 
"  Spero  meliora  "  as  worthy  of  honorable  mention,  without, 
however,  being  entirely  agreed  as  to  their  comparative  merits. 

We  are,  sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

HAMILTON  FISH, 
A.  A.  LOW, 
J.  D.  JONES. 


LIFE    OF 

Lord    Lawrence 

BY 

R.    BOSWORTH    SMITH,   M.A., 

LATE   FELLOW   OF  TRINITY   COLLEGE  ;   ASSISTANT   MASTER   AT   HARROW 


SCHOOL. 


With  Maps  and  Portraits,  2  vols,,  8vo,  $5.OO. 


"As  a  biography,  the  work  is  an  inthralling  one,  rich  in 
anecdotes  and  incidents  of  Lord  Lawrence's  tempestuous  nature 
and  beneficent  career  that  bring  into  bold  relief  his  strongly- 
marked  and  almost  colossal  individuality,  and  rich  also  in  in- 
stances of  his  courage,  his  fortitude,  his  perseverance,  his  self- 
control,  his  magnanimity,  and  in  the  details  of  the  splendid 
results  of  his  masterful  and  masterly  policy.  .  .  .  We  know 
of  no  work  on  India  to  which  the  reader  can  refer  with  so  great 
certainty  for  full  and  dispassionate  information  relative  to  the 
government  of  the  country,  the  characteristics  of  its  people,  and 
the  fateful  events  of  the  forty  eventful  years  of  Lord  Lawrence's 
Indian  career." — Harper's  Magazine. 

11  John  Lawrence,  the  name  by  which  the  late  Viceroy  of  India 
will  always  be  best  known,  has  been  fortunate  in  his  biographer, 
Mr.  Bosworth  Smith,  who  is  an  accomplished  writer  and  a  faith- 
ful, unflinching  admirer  of  his  hero.  He  has  produced  an  enter- 
taining as  well  as  a  valuable  book  ;  the  general  reader  will 
certainly  find  it  attractive  ;  the  student  of  recent  history  will 
discover  in  its  pages  matters  of  deep  interest  to  him." — London 
Daily  Telegraph. 

*#*  For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent,  post-paid,  upon  receipt  of  price,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS, 

743  AND  745  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


NOW    COMPLETE. 

In  three  volumes,  JL2mo,  with  Maps  and  Plans. 


THE 

Navy  m  the  Civil  War 


npHE  WORK  OF  THE  NAVY  in  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  was 
-*•  certainly  not  less  remarkable  than  that  of  the  Army.  The  same 
forces  which  developed  from  our  volunteers  some  of  the  finest  bodies  of 
soldiers  in  military  history,  were  shown  quite  as  wonderfully  in  the  creation 
of  a  Navy,  which  was  to  cope  for  the  first  time  with  the  problems  of  modern 
warfare. 

The  facts  that  the  Civil  War  was  the  first  great  conflict  in  which  steam 
was  the  motive  power  of  ships  ;  that  it  was  marked  by  the  introduction  of 
the  ironclad  ;  and  that  it  saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  attempt  to  blockade 
such  a  vast  length  of  hostile  coast  —  will  make  it  an  epoch  for  the  techinal 
student  everywhere. 

But  while  the  Army  has  been  fortunate  in  the  number  and  character  of 
those  who  have  contributed  to  its  written  history,  the  Navy  has  been  com- 
paratively without  annalists.  During  a  recent  course  of  publications  on 
the  military  operations  of  the  war,  the  publishers  were  in  constant  receipt 
of  letters  pointing  out  this  fact,  and  expressing  the  wish  that  a  complete 
naval  history  of  the  four  years  might  be  written  by  competent  hands.  An 
effort  made  in  this  direction  resulted  in  the  cordial  adoption  and  carrying 
out  of  plans  by  which  Messrs.  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS  are 
enabled  to  announce  the  completion  of  a  work  of  the  highest  authority  and 
interest,  giving  the  whole  narrative  of  Naval  Operations  from  1861  to  1865. 

I.    THE    BLOCKADE    AND    THE    CRUISERS.—  By    Pro- 
fessor J.  RUSSELL  SOLEY,  U.  S.  Navy. 

II.    THE      ATLANTIC     COAST.—  By     Rear-Admiral     DANIEL 
AMMEN,  U.  S.  Navy. 

III.    THE    GULF  AND   INLAND  WATERS.—  By  Commander 

A.  T.  MAHAN,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Uniform  with  "The  Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War,"  with  maps 
and  diagrams  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the  A.uthors. 

Price  per  Volume,  SI.OO. 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S   SONS,   Publishers, 
&   745  Broadway,  New   York. 


THE 

Navy  in  the  Civil  War 

I -THE  BLOCKADE  AND  THE  CRUISERS. 

By  Professor  J.  RUSSELL  SOLEY,  U.  S.  Navy. 

"The  book  is  well  arranged,  written  clearly,  without  technical  terms, 
and  shows  great  familiarity  with  the  subject.  It  is  marked  by  thoroughness 
of  preparation,  sound  judgment,  and  admirable  impartiality.  It  is  a  promis- 
ing beginning  of  the  projected  series ;  and  if  the  other  volumes  prove 
worthy  of  this,  they  will  make  a  valuable  addition  to  the  Army  series, 
which  has  proved  so  useful  and  popular." — Ths  Nation. 

II.-THE  ATLANTIC  COAST. 

By  Real-Admiral  DANIEL  AMMEN,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Admiral  Ammen's  history  of  the  naval  operations  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  from  1861  to  the  close  of  the*  war,  describes  the  active  work  of  the 
navy  in  attacking  the  defensive  strongholds  of  the  Confederacy  from 
Hampton  Roads  to  Florida  Keys.  It  includes  a  full  account  of  the  long 
siege  of  Charleston,  and  the  scarcely  less  arduous  operations  against 
Fort  Fisher,  the  capture  of  Hatteras  Inlet,  Roanoke  Island  and  Newbern, 
and  other  minor  movements  along  the  coast. 

III.-THE  GULF  AND  INLAND  WATERS. 

By  Commander  A.  T.  MAHAN,  U.  S.  Navy. 

The  achievements  of  the  Naval  force  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries, 
and  on  the  Gulf  and  the  Red  River,  either  independently  or  in  co-oper- 
ation with  the  Army,  form  one  of  the  most  thrilling  chapters  in  the  history 
of  the  Civil  War.  The  exploits  of  Farragut,  Foote  and  Porter,  with  their 
gallant  crews  and  improvised  vessels,  teem  with  acts  of  daring,  marvelous 
escapes,  and  terrific  encounters.  Commander  Mahan  has  done  full  justice 
to  this  side  of  his  narrative,  but  he  has  given  at  the  same  time  a  record  of 
this  part  of  the  war  that  has  greater  claims  to  historic  value  than  any  which 
have  preceded  it. 

Each  One  Volume,    1  2mo,  with    Maps  and    Plans. 

Price  per  Volume,   SI.OO. 


CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS,  Publishers, 

743  c0  743  Broadway,  New  York. 


t'JBy    Arrangement    ^vith    tlie     Author.! 

The  Beat  Biography  of  the  Greatest  of  the  Roman*. 

GjBSAR:     A   SKETCH. 

BY 

JAMES  ANTHONY  FROUDE,  M.A. 

Library    Edition,    8vo,    Cloth,    Oilt   Top,    $2.5O. 

POPULAR   EDITION  (from   name  plates),  12mo,  75  Cent*. 

•     Uniform  wi'h  Popular  Edition  nf  Fronde's  History 
of  England,  and  Short  Studies. 


There  is  no  historical  writer  of  oar  time  who  can  rival  Mr.  Fronde  in  vivid 
delineation  of  character,  grace  and  clearness  of  style  and  elegant  anU  solid 
scholarship.  In  his  Life  of  Ctesar,  all  these  qualities  appear  in  their  fullest 
perfection,  resulting  in  a  fascinating  narrative  which  will  be  read  with  keen 
delight  by  a  multitude  of  readers,  and  will  enhance,  if  possible,  Mr.  Fronde's 
brilliant  reputation. 


CRITICAL    NOTICES. 

"  The  book  is  charmingly  written,  and,  on  the  whole,  wisely  written.  There  are  many 
admirable,  really  noble,  passages  ;  there  are  hundreds  of  pages  which  few  liv'ng  men 
cculd  match.  *  *  *  The  political  life  of  Caesar  is  explained  wilh  singular  lucidity, 
and  with  what  seems  to  us  remarkable  fairness.  The  horrible  condition  of  Roman 
society  under  the  rule  of  the  magnates  is  painted  with  startling  power  ami  brilliance  of 
coloring. — Atlantic  Monthly. 

"  Mr.  Froude's  latest  work,  "  Ciesar,"  is  affluent  of  his  most  distinctive  traits. 
Nothing  that  he  has  written  is  more  brilliant,  more  incisive,  more  interes,iong.  *  *  * 
He  combines  into  a  compact  and  nervous  narrative  all  that  is  known  of  the  personal, 
social,  political,  and  military  life  of  Caesar  ;  and  with  his  sketch  of  Caesar,  includes  other 
brilliant  sketches  of  the  great  men,  his  friends  or  rivals,  who  contemporaneously  with 
him  formed  the  principal  figures  in  the  Roman  world." — Harper's  Monthly. 

"This  book  is  a  most  fascinating  biography,  and  is  by  far  the  best  account  of  Juliui 
Caesar  to  be  found  in  the  English  language." — London  Standard. 

"  It  is  the  best  biography  of  the  greatest  of  the  Romans  we  have,  and  it  is  in  somi 
respects  Mr.  F  rondo's  best  piece  of  historical  writing." — Hartford  Courant. 

Mr.  Froude  has  given  the  public  the  best  of  all  recent  books  on  the  life,  characta 
and  career  of  Julius  Caesar." — Phila.  Eve.  Bulletin. 


%*    For  sale   by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent   prepaid ',  upon 
receipt  of  frict,  by 

CHARLES  SCRTBNER'S   SONS, 
743  AND  745  BROADWAY,  NEW 


MESSRS.  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

publish,  under  the  general  title  of 

THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR, 

A  Series  of  volumes,  contributed  by  a  number  of  leading 
actors  in  and  students  of  the  great  conflict  of  i86i-'65,  with 
a  view  to  bringing  together,  for  the  first  time,  a  full  and 
authoritative  military  history  of  the  suppression  of  the 
Rebellion.  

The  final  and  exhaustive  form  of  this  great  narrative,  in  which  every 
doubt  shall  be  settled  and  every  detail  covered,  may  be  a  possibility 
only  of  the  future.  But  it  is  a  matter  for  surprise  that  twenty  years 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Rebellion,  and  when  a  whole  generation 
has  grown  up  needing  such  knowledge,  there  is  no  authority  which  is 
at  the  same  time  of  the  highest  rank,  intelligible  and  trustworthy,  and 
to  which  a  reader  can  turn  for  any  general  view  of  the  field. 

The  many  reports,  regimental  histories,  memoirs,  and  other  materi- 
als of  value  for  special  passages,  require,  for  their  intelligent  reading, 
an  ability  to  combine  and  proportion  them  which  the  ordinary  reader 
does  not  possess.  There  have  been  no  attempts  at  general  histories 
which  have  supplied  this  satisfactorily  to  any  large  part  of  the  public. 
Undoubtedly  there  has  been  no  such  narrative  as  would  be  especially 
welcome  to  men  of  the  new  generation,  and  would  be  valued  by  a  very 
great  class  of  readers  ; — and  there  has  seemed  to  be  great  danger  that 
the  time  would  be  allowed  to  pass  when  it  would  be  possible  to  give 
to  such  a  work  the  vividness  and  accuracy  that  come  from  personal 
recollection.  These  facts  led  to  the  conception  of  the  present  work. 

From  every  department  of  the  Government,  from  the  officers  of  the 
army,  and  from  a  great  number  of  custodians  of  records  and  special  infor- 
mation everywhere,  both  authors  and  publishers  have  received  every  aid 
that  could  be  asked  in  this  undertaking ;  and  in  announcing  the  issue  of 
the  work  the  publishers  take  this  occasion  to  convey  the  thanks  which 
the  authors  have  had  individual  opportunities  to  express  elsewhere. 


The  volumes  are  duodecimos  of  about  250  pages  each, 
illustrated  by  maps  and  plans  prepared  under  the  direction 
of  the  authors. 

The  price  of  each  volume  is  $1.00. 

The  following  volumes  are  now  ready : 

I. — The  Outbreak  of  Jicbellion.  By  JOHN  G.  NICOLAY, 
Esq.,  Private  Secretary  to  President  Lincoln ;  late  Consul- 
General  to  France,  etc. 

A  preliminary  volume,  describing  the  opening  of  the  war.  and   covering  th* 
period  from  the  election  of  Lincoln  to  the  end  of  the  fir»t  battle  of  Bull  Run. 


II. — From  Fort  Henry  to  Corinth.  By  the  Hon.  M. 
F.  FORCE,  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court,  Cincinnati!;  late 
Brigadier-General  and  Bvt.  Maj.  Gen'l,  U.S.V.,  commanding 
First  Division,  I7th  Corps:  in  1862,  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the 
aoth  Ohio,  commanding  the  regiment  at  Shiloh ;  Treasurer  of 
the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 

The  narrative  of  events  in  the  West  from  the  Summer  of  1861  to  May,  1862 ; 
covering  the  capture  of  Fts.  Henry  and  Donelson,  the  Battle  of  Shiloh,  etc.,  etc. 

III. — The  Peninsula.  By  ALEXANDER  S.  WEBB,  LL.D., 
President  of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York :  Assistant 
Chief  of  Artillery,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  i86i-'6z ;  Inspector 
General  Fifth  Army  Corps;  General  commanding  2d  Div., 
2d  Corps ;  Major  General  Assigned,  and  Chief  of  Staff,  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

The  history  of  McClellan's  Peninsula  Campaign,  from  his  appointment  to  th« 
md  of  the  Seven  Days'  Fight. 

/  V. — The  Army  under  Pope.  By  JOHN  C.  ROPES,  Esq., 
of  the  Military  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  etc. 

From  the  appointment  of  Pope  to  command  the  Army  of  Virginia,  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  McClellau  to  the  general  command  in  September,  1862 

i". — The  Antfefam  and  FredericJtsburg.  By  FRANCIS 
WINTHROP  PALFREY,  Bvt.  Brigadier  Gen'l,  U.S.V.,  and  form- 
erly Colonel  2Oth  Mass.  Infantry ;  Lieut.  Col  of  the  2Oth 
Massachusetts  at  the  Battle  of  the  Antietam ;  Member  of 
the  Military  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  etc. 

From  the  appointment  of  McClellan  to  the  general  command,  September,  1862,  to 
the  end  of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 
t 

VI.— Chancellor sville  and  Gettysburg.  By  ABNER 
DOUBLEDAY,  Bvt.  Maj.  Gen'l,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Maj.  Gen'i, 
U.S.V.  ;  commanding  the  First  Corps  at  Gettysburg,  etc. 

From  the  appointment  of  Hooker,  through  the  campaigns  of  Chancellorsville  and 
Gettysburg,  to  the  retreat  of  Lee  after  the  latter  battle. 

VII.— The  Arm?/  of  the  Cumberland.  By  HENRY  M. 
CIST,  Brevet  Brig.  Gen'l  U.S.V  ;  A.A.G.  on  the  *taff  of 
Major  Gen'l  Rosecrans.  and  afterwards  on  that  of  Major  Gen'l 
Thomas  ;  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland. 

From  the  formation  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  to  the  end  of  the  bat'les  at 
Chattanooga,  November,  1863. 


VIII.— The  Mississippi.  By  FRANCIS  VINTON  GREENE, 
Lieut,  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army ;  late  Military  Attache  to  the 
U.  S.  Legation  in  St.  Petersburg ;  Author  of  "  The  Russian 
Army  and  its  Campaigns  in  Turkey  in  1877-78,"  and  of 
44  Army  Life  in  Russia." 

An  account  of  the  operations — especially  at  Viclcsburg  and  Port  Hudson — by 
which  the  Mississippi  River  and  its  shores  were  restored  to  the  control  of  the  Union. 

IX. — Atlanta.  By  the  Hon.  JACOB  D.  Cox,  Ex-Governor  of 
Ohio;  late  Secretary  of  the  Interior  of  the  United  States; 
Major  General  U.  S.V.,  commanding  Twenty-third  Corps 
during  the  campaigns  of  Atlanta  and  the  Carolinas,  etc. ,  etc. 

From  Sherman's  first  advance  into  Georgia  in  May,  1864,  to  the  beginning  of 
the  March  to  the  Sea. 

X. — The  March  to  the  Sea — Franklin  and  Nashville. 

By  the  Hon.  JACOB  D.  Cox. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  March  to_  the  Sea  to  the  surrender  of  Johnston- ' 
including  also  the  operations  of  Thomas  in  Tennessee. 

XI.— The  Shenandoah  Valley  in  1864.  The  Cam- 
paign of  Sheridan.  By  GEORGE  E.  POND,  Esq.,  Asso- 
ciate Editor  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

XII.—  The  Virginia  Campaign  of  64  and  >65.  Tlie 
Army  of  the  Potomac  and  1he  Army  of  the 
James,  By  ANDREW  A.  HUMPHREYS,  Brigadier  General 
and  Bvt.  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.  ;  late  Chief  of  Engineers ; 
Chief  of  Stafl",  Army  of  the  Potomac,  1863-64 ;  commanding 
Second  Corps,  i864-'65,  etc.,  etc. 

Statistical  Record  of  the  Armies  of  the  United 
States.  By  FREDERICK  PHISTERER,  late  Captain  U.  S.  A. 

This  Record  includes  the  figures  of  the  quotas  and  men  actually  furnished  by 
all  States  ;  a  list  of  all  organizations  mustered  into  the  U.  S.  service;  the  strength 
of  the  army  at  various  periods  ;  its  organization  in  armies,  corps,  etc.;  the  divisions 
of  the  country  into  departments,  etc.;  chronological  list  of  all  engagements,  with  the 
losses  in  each  ;  tabulated  statements  of  all  losses  in  the  war,  with  the  causes  of 
death,  etc. ;  full  lists  of  all  general  officers,  and  an  immense  amount  of  other  valuable 
statistical  matter  relating  to  the  War. 


The  complete  Set,  thirteen  volumes,  in  a  box.     Price,  $12.50 
Single  volumes,       .  .  .  .  .  .        i.oo 

***  The  above  looks  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent,  fost-Jaidt 
•upon,  receipt  of  frice,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS, 

743  AND  745  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


THE 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS  ON  THE  SERIES, 


From  the  CINCINNATI  COMMERCIAL. 

"  Scribner's  Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War  are  probably  the  ablest  and  most 
striking  account  of  the  late  war  that  has  yet  been  written.  Choosing  the  flower 
of  military  authors,  the  publishers  have  assigned  to  each  the  task  of  writing  the 
history  of  the  events  he  knew  most  about.  Thus,  both  accuracy  and  a  life-like 
freshness  have  been  secured." 

From  the  HARTFORD  POST. 

11  No  series  of  books  has  awakened  so  much  discussion  in  years  as  the  cam- 
paign volumes  which  the  New  York  publishers  are  now  providing  for  the  public. 
To  the  veterans  who  served  in  the  war  the  works  are  of  the  deepest  concern  and 
have  been  read  with  profound  interest." 

From  the  BOSTON  ADVERTISER. 

"  We  can  only  call  attention  here  once  more  to  the  excellent  plan  of  this  new 
history  of  the  war,  and  the  fidelity  and  care  with  which  the  several  writers  have 
performed  their  tasks.  *  *  *  That  which  has  been  now  done  by  the  authors 
of  '  The  Campaigns'  will  never  need  to  be  done  again." 

From  the  UTICA  (N.  Y.)  HERALD. 

"As  this  series  approaches  its  close  the  reader  is  compelled  to  testify  that  it 
has  already  become  the  standard  history  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  as  a  whole, 
and  it  will  be  long,  if  ever,  before  any  rival  can  supplant  it." 

From  the  N.  Y.  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE. 

"  The  altogether  admirable  series  on  the  '  Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War '  draws 
near  completion.  We  doubt  if  a  better  and  more  evenly  sustained  series  can  be 
found  on  any  subject.  More  than  any  other  work,  this  will  be  the  trusted  history 
of  our  civil  war," 

From  the  New  York  TRIBUNE. 

"A  high  degree  of  editorial  tact  and  intelligence  characterizes  the  execution 
of  Messrs.  Scribner's  excellent  undertaking.  The  division  of  the  work  is  judici- 
ous ;  the  allotment  of  topics  to  the  various  writers  is  happy,  and  cordial  co-opera- 
tion has  been  secured  from  recognized  authorities,  from  the  Government,  from 
distinguished  military  officers,  and  from  the  custodians  of  public  and  private 
records.  To  all  this  we  may  add  that  the  volumes  are  convenient  in  size,  beauti- 
fully printed,  and  furnished  with  many  clear  and  simple  maps." 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS,    PUBLISHERS, 
743  AND  745  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


A    NEW  AND    UNIFORM   EDITION. 


GEORGE  W.  CABLE'S 
WRITINGS. 

THE    GRANDISSIMES:   A  Story  of  Creole  Life. 

With  a  frontispiece,  "THE  CABILDO  OF  1883."     i   volume,  I2mo.     Price 
reduced  to  $1.25. 

Mr.  Cable  has  given  this  volume  a  slight  revision  as  regards  dialect, 
wherever — and  only  where — it  had  no  humorous  value.  The  dialects  of 
the  Creole  Ladies,  of  Raoul  Innerarity,  and  Clemence,  remain  undisturbed. 

OLD  CREOLE  DAYS. 

With  a  frontispiece,  "THE  CAFE  DES  EXILES."     I  volume,  I2mo, uniform 
with  The  Grandissimes,  $1.25. 

POPULAR   EDITION  OF  OLD   CREOLE   DAYS. 

Two  series,  sold  separately,  30  cents  each.     The  same  in  cloth,  gilt  top, 
with  frontispieces,  75  cents  each. 

"  Here  is  true  art  at  work.  Here  is  poetry,  pathos,  tragedy,  humor. 
Here  is  an  entrancing  style.  Here  is  a  new  field,  one  full  of  passion  and 
beauty.  Here  is  a  local  color,  with  strong  drawing.  Here,  in  this  little 
volume,  is  life,  breath,  and  blood.  The  author  of  this  book  is  an  artist,  and 
over  such  a  revelation  one  maybe  permitted  strong  words." — Cincinnati 
Times. 

For  sale  by  all  book-sellers,  or  sent,  post-paid,  by  the  publishers. 

CHARLES     SCRIBNER'S     SONS, 

&  j4<-j  Broadway,  New-York. 


JUST  PUBLISHED.     FROM  ADVANCE  SHEETS. 


John  Bull  and  His  Island 

/  vol.,  i2mo.     Paper,  50  cts.     Cloth,  $1.00. 


'T^HIS  witty  and  incisive  book  on  England,  by  an  anonymous  French 
author,  is  the  sensation  of  the  moment  both  in  Paris  and  London. 

The  British  press  and  public  have  been  compelled  to  laugh  over  the  admir- 
able cleverness  of  the  study,  even  while  they  protested;  and  the  fairer 
critics  have  recognized  the  striking  truth  and  merit  of  the  more  serious 
criticism  which  forms  no  insignificant  part  of  it. 

The  volume  has  reached  its  twentieth  large  edition  in  Paris,  while  the 
present  authorized  translation — now  published  simultaneously  in  Eng- 
land and  America  —  has  been  preparing  under  the  supervision  of  the 
author ;  and  the  London  publishers  write  that  the  advance  orders  have 
already  taken  up  the  large  first  edition  proposed  by  them. 

"  Certainly  not  in  our  day  has  appeared  a  more  bit- 
ing, comprehensive,  and  clever  satire  than  this  anony- 
mous French  account  of  England.  The  author  must 
have  acquired  his  wonderful  familiarity  with  Great 
Britain  by  a  long  and  observant  residence  within  her 
borders,  and  the  shrewdness  with  which  he  puts  his 
finger  upon  the  weak  spots  of  the  English  character  is 
little  short  of  marvelous.  Either  because  he  is  shrewd 
enough  to  understand  that  an  admixture  of  praise 
makes  more  effective  his  satire,  or — and  we  believe 
the  latter — from  genuine  admiration,  he  has  much  to 
say  that  is  good  of  both  people  and  island.  *  *  It  is 
certainly  not  to  be  wondered  that  the  volume  has  pro- 
duced a  profound  sensation  in  London;  and  it  will 
undoubtedly  be  widely  read  in  this  country.  Enemies 
of  England  will  read  it  with  wicked  glee ;  her  friends 
with  a  mixture  of  pride  and  humiliation  ;  nobody,  we 
apprehend,  with  indifference." — Boston  Advertiser. 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS, 

Publishers,  New-York. 


E 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Series  9482 


A     000  720  509     9 


